The Redhead Next Door
by IluvMonkeys
Summary: After the tragic death of his wife shakes Gunny Sgt. Leroy Jetro Gibbs to the core, and he is left alone, a single father to their baby girl, a new redhead moves in next door. Will she help him cope? Or simply bring more unwanted comlications? -AU Jibbs-
1. Chapter 1

**A/n**: **Hey guys!So her's my first AU story. I'm wrapping up Let's Stay Together, as well as Just Like You. Just Like You should be up by tonight or tomorrow, and yeah :) Okay so I really hope you like it!**

Jethro stood in his basement, sanding his boat when his wife's soft voice drifted down the staircase.

"Jethro! It's time!"

His head shot up, and he bounded up the basement stairs, stopping abruptly to avoid running into the still characteristically calm red head standing there. She handed him the bag in her hand with a soft smile.

"It's time?" he demanded breathlessly, his heart hammering against his ribs.

"Yes," she laughed, and he took the bag she held out to him, ushering her through the front door.

They arrived at Bethesda Naval Medical Center twenty minutes later, and yet, Shannon stayed calm, despite the increasingly intensifying pain she was in. Quite the opposite, Jethro was skittish and jumpy, and needed her assurance that she was alright with every wince of pain.

"Stop that Jethro," she snapped finally, through another contraction, as they made their way across the parking lot, "You're making me nervous."

Shannon screamed, pushing as hard as she could, as another contraction wracked her exhausted body after sixteen hours of labor, tightening her vice grip on her husband's hand. Her head fell back against the pillows, her copper hair drenched in sweat, and sticking to her face and neck.

"One more time Shannon," the doctor encouraged, "You're doing great. One more."

"I can't," she breathed, exhausted.

"Yes you can. Come on one more time. One more time and you can meet your little girl. As hard as you can. Come on."

Shannon took a deep breath, and sat up, and gritted her teeth, pushing with all her might. The sharp cry of her daughter echoed through the room, and she laughed weakly.

"You did good Shan," Jethro whispered in her ear, and she brought a soft hand to his cheek. Her eyes fluttered closed as she lost the fight against her exhaustion, and her breathing turned shallow. Jethro smiled at her, brushing her damp locks from her face, and cast a glance to their daughter, Kelly, being attended to by the nurses. She had a set of lungs, just like her dad.

Quickly though, the atmosphere changed from that of exuberant joy and relief, to one of shock and panic as Shannon's heart monitor started to go haywire as her heart rate and blood pressure started its rapid decline.

"What's wrong with her?" Jethro demanded when his wife's eyes remained closed, and she showed no signs of responding even as nurses and doctor's rushed to her aid and the machines beeped frantically.

"Shannon!" he called, "Shannon! Wake up!"

"Sir you have to leave," one of the nurses ordered softly, her voice sympathetic.

"No! What's wrong with her?" he demanded, "What's happening to her?"

"Sir," the nurse ordered more sternly, ushering him from the room, shutting the door with an apologetic look.

Jethro paced the hall outside his wife's room, two hours later, awaiting any information on Shannon's condition, preferably good.

He stopped, snapping his head to the door as it opened with a soft click. He looked to the doctor hopefully, but his expression dropped slightly at the man's grave look.

"How is she?" Jethro asked as the man approached him.

The doctor exhaled heavily, holding tightly to his clipboard. "I'm very sorry Mr. Gibbs. Your wife, well. The placenta didn't detach fully during the delivery. I'd rather not go into the details, but-

Jethro cut him off abruptly, his eyes full of fire. "No. You tell me exactly what happened!" he barked.

The doctor sighed. "When it emerged, it pulled the top of the uterus down with it, leading to excessive bleeding, sending your wife into shock."

"What does that mean?" Jethro demanded, "How is she?" Is she awake? Is she okay?"

The doctor sighed heavily once more, obviously not wanting to speak the words he was being forced to. "Mr. Gibbs I'm very sorry. We did everything we could."

"No!" Jethro yelled, his voice resounding through the halls of the maternal wing. He kicked the wall, and slid against it, his head falling into his hands. For the first time in years, he cried.

The doctor, squatted down beside him, resting a comforting hand to his shoulder as the man in front of him fell apart.

Gunny Sergeant Leroy Jethro Gibbs, walked out of Bethesda Naval Hospital with a heavy heart, a bundle of pink in his arms. The sleeping baby girl was the spitting image of her mother, what with her ivory complexion, long lashes, and bright, blue eyes. The only difference was the hair, but even that showed traces of Shannon; despite its brunette coloring, there were distinct traces of the copper tones that had been her mother's.

He hooked the baby girl into the pink and brown car seat Shannon had picked out for her. As the buckle clicked shut, it hit him that he had no idea what he was doing. He had been the typical man during Shannon's pregnancy; excited, of course, but it had been his wife who had read the baby books, Shannon, who had chosen most of the baby's things, Shannon, who had gone to classes. He really, truly had no idea how they would cope without her.

**A/n: So there's the first chapter to this one! *Sad face right* But that pretty much got past the angsty part to this story. Now we'll be getting into the romance part next (aka Jenny and Gibbs meet!) Kay. Hope you liked it :) Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n: Aww you guys! I'm so glad you're liking this story! Kelly was born in '84, I'm going to try to channel that era, but you'll have to forgive me on any mishaps(I expect quite a few) Lol. It was a little before my time. If anybody reading can remember growing up then, any input would be greatly appreciated lol :D**

**Enjoy!**

**~Five Months Later~**

Gunny Sergeant Gibbs wrestled with his five month old daughter, attempting to get her into her diaper while she giggled, kicking her feet. "Kelly," he sighed, "Kelly sit still would you?" She simply shrieked in laughter.

Once he had managed to get the little girl into a diaper, and dressed her in a black and pink, polka dotted dress, a gift from her grandmother, he hooked her into her baby carrier, and headed out the door.

As he walked down the walkway, by chance, he happened to look across the yard to the house next to his. He did not normally pay much attention to his neighbors, other than the occasional cordial greeting, he did not interact with them much at all. Where the brick house had been empty only yesterday, the driveway was filled with an enormous moving truck, while burly looking men moved up and down the walkway, a piece of furniture in their arms each time.

What caught his eye though, was the young, smiling red head on the porch. The sun set her copper hair ablaze, only further accentuating the contrast between her fiery hair and ivory skin. Her skin tight, acid wash jeans left little to the imagination, while her loose black and white striped top clung in all the right places.

He was yanked out of his thoughts by Kelly's shrieks, and he looked down to see the baby girl playing joyfully with her feet. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts, and continued toward his car, hooking Kelly into the backseat, before proceeding to the driver's side; though not before casting a quick glance back at the fiery red head.

Jethro walked through the community market, tossing fruits and vegetables into his cart, all while his daughter wriggled in the cart. She showed more and more of her mother every day; her endless energy, her smile.

He moved down the soup aisle, searching for the pasta mix when he heard a metallic clattering from behind him. "Kelly," he sighed scoldingly, crossing the aisle in one stride, bending over to pick up one of the soup cans she had knocked over. As he stood, he was surprised to see the red head from that morning, facing him. She smiled softly, placing two cans back on the shelf. "Thanks," he sighed.

"No problem," she said, grinning. "I'm Jenny," she introduced herself, holding a hand out.

"Jethro," he replied, taking her small hand in his.

From behind them, Kelly shrieked in laughter, and Jenny smiled at her. "And who is this cutie?" she cooed, bending over to smile at her. Kelly squealed, and reached out, tugging at a strand of feathered hair.

"Kelly!" Jethro scolded, then turned to the red head. "I'm uh-sorry about her," he apologized.

"No, it's okay," she assured him, tickling Kelly's tummy, sending the child into a fit of giggles, before standing straight once more. "I'm used to it. My sister has three of them. All one year apart," she laughed.

He chuckled. "Still."

Forty minutes later, Jethro waited for his new neighbor while she paid for her groceries. She lifted her bags from the counter, smiling at the cashier, and turned to the dark haired man waiting for her.

"Let me take your bags for you," he offered, but she brushed him off.

"No," she protested, smiling, "You have her to carry," she reasoned, referring to the wriggly baby in his arms.

As they walked across the parking lot, Jenny laughed as he recounted stories of Kelly's antics.

"Oh I know her mother must love that," Jenny laughed, though her smile dropped almost immediately at his sudden change in demeanor.

"Her mother passed," he started, "when she was born."

"Oh my God," she gasped, "I'm so sorr-You were wearing a wedding ring. I just thought-"

"You didn't know," he cut her off, "We're doing okay though."

She nodded, smiling sympathetically, finding that they were at her car. "It was nice meeting you Jethro."

"Same here Jenny. Don't be afraid to knock if you need anything."

"Thank you. You do the same. If you need help with her, I mean, or, anything."

The next morning, Jethro stepped out of his house, his daughter in hand, altogether quite grumpy. He had to be on base and Kelly's babysitter had called in sick at the last minute.

"Morning!" Jenny greeted from her mailbox. Her smile faltered at the expression on his face, and she risked a joke. "Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

"Her babysitter canceled, " he explained, motioning to the somewhat cranky baby in his arms, "and I have to be on base."

"I don't have to be at work or anything today. I could watch her. If you want?" she offered. He hesitated, eyeing her skeptically. She seemed nice enough, but in truth, he did not really know much about her. She smiled, sensing his reluctance, and joked, "Don't worry. I'm not a baby snatcher or anything. Really. I'm just trying to be helpful. It's not like I have anything better to do today. I'll give you my number, and you can even call to check on her every hour," she laughed.

He hesitated slightly before, sighing. "Um, yeah. Okay thanks."

She nodded, grinning. "Okay. Come on in really quick, and I'll write my number down for you." He followed her up her driveway, stopping in the doorway. "You can come in you know," she called from inside the house, laughing.

He stepped inside, taking in the neutral carpeting and salmon colored walls; the wood furniture, and mirrors hanging on the walls. Aside from mirrors the walls were covered in photos, and the windows were draped with floral curtains. Her décor was surprisingly deceiving of her age. There was no way she could be more than twenty-five, and yet, her style was not so loud and busy, as was often the case for many people her age.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as she came up beside him, a yellow Post-it note in hand. She held it out to him, pointing out her home phone number, but what surprised him was that she had a cell number. She had money, obviously. Cell phones had only just been released recently, very recently. They were expensive. That explained her being able to buy a house in a neighborhood that had taken him until his thirties to afford. "Thanks, for this," he sighed.

"Oh it's no problem," she assured him, waving him off. She took the little girl from him, taking her diaper bag in the other. "So when are you going to back?"

"Uh. Six?"

"Yeah okay. That's fine," she agreed, and he placed a kiss to his daughter's forehead.

"Bye Kel," he said, "I'll be back soon okay?" He then turned to the red head, with a, "Thanks again."

Locking the door behind the girl's father, Jenny turned to the baby, and said, "Let's see what your daddy left for you to eat huh?"

At 1800 sharp, Jenny jumped at the sharp rap on her door. Her gaze shot to the clock above her fireplace. Finding that it read six' o'clock, she called out, "Just a minute!" and fed Kelly the last spoonful of chicken and rice baby food, before wiping the baby's face, and made sure that she looked presentable, before swinging the little girl into her arms, patting her back, and moved for the door. She opened it with a smile, revealing Kelly's father standing there in his uniform.

"Hey Jenny," he greeted with a smile; one which she returned.

"Hey," she replied, somewhat breathlessly. "Sorry. I was just finishing up feeding her."

"Yeah. No problem," he assured the young red head, gently taking his daughter, who was starting to dose off, from her arms. "Thanks again, for doing this. Let me pay you or some-"

She cut him off. "It really wasn't a big deal," she assured him, "She's a very good baby," she praised, tickling the baby in question lightly, causing the little girl to smile softly. Both adults smiled, and Jethro sighed. "Alright well. I guess I better get her into bed."

"Yeah," Jenny agreed. "Good night Jethro."

" G'Night Jenny," he replied, walking down her driveway.

She smiled, shutting the door behind the two.

Later that night, Jethro paced the floor of the nursery, bouncing his wailing daughter in his arms. "Kelly," he sighed wearily. They had been up for four hours, since 0000. "Kelly, baby please go to sleep."

Her wails only seemed to intensify: if that were possible. He sighed at a knock on the door, and realized she must have woken the neighbors.

He jogged down the stairs, Kelly in hand, and looked through the peephole, surprised to see his new neighbor standing there. He opened the door, an apologetic look on his face, revealing her to be standing on his porch in her pajamas.

"Hey," she sighed, exhaustion clouding her voice. "Need some help?"

"Why not?" he sighed, stepping aside, allowing her to step inside.

She smiled, taking the baby gently from him. "Hi honey," she cooed, bouncing the wailing child in her arms. "Where's your kitchen?" she asked, turning to the weary man behind her.

"Yeah," he sighed, "Through here."

She followed his line of direction, quickly washing her hands, and turned to him once more. "Do you have a washcloth or something?" she queried, nodding to the slobbering baby.

He retreated from the room, and was back within seconds with a washcloth as she had requested. She took a seat in one of the kitchen chairs, offering the baby her finger, which the child readily took. Jenny smiled at the tot, who seemed to be quieting. "I thought so," she murmured, looking up to the man in the kitchen, an expression of shock on his face. She laughed, and explained, "She's just teething. I noticed it earlier today. Her teeth are coming in. Just get her a teething ring, or a cold washcloth, or let her gnaw on you finger for a while," she chuckled. "Give her some infant's Tylenol if you have it."

"Thanks," he sighed, for the umpteenth time that night, rubbing his forehead. "I probably would've been up all night"

"Me too," she joked, "I keep my window cracked at night."

He laughed, shaking his head, dropping to the chair across from her. He watched the woman across from him cooing softly to his daughter, and he knew that she had to be a blessing, but he couldn't help but feel the bitter pang in the back of his mind that it should be Shannon doing this.

**A/n: So I hoped you liked it guys! So that's the start of the relationship. And Kelly seems to like her. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n: Hey guys! So here's the new chapter! Hope you like it :) ****Sorry it's a tad short, but everything that was in my head is in here lol. **

Jenny bagged a bundle of broccoli, setting them in her basket beside the peaches and mangoes. She headed down the soup aisle in search the cream of mushroom soup. She smiled, spotting a familiar head of dark hair. "Hey neighbor," she greeted coyly, sidling up to him.

He looked up, startled for a moment before seeing who it was, and he smirked. "Hey Jen."

She peeked at the contents of his basket, and laughed. "Every time I see you in here you're buying pasta mix," she teased, "I bet you can't even cook."

"I can cook," he insisted, and she grinned.

"Yeah like what?" she challenged.

"Pasta."

She eyed him skeptically. "What kind of pasta?"

"Pasta mix."

She laughed, an all out gut busting laugh, and he had to laugh with her. He liked her laugh. She had one of those laughs, where when she started laughing, you couldn't help but do it too. "Well, come by tonight around seven and I'll make you a decent meal," she laughed. Before he could protest, she held up a hand. "Don't protest. Bring Kelly if you want, and don't dress up," she said, a teasing smile on her face, "It's not a date, I'm just taking pity on you."

He laughed, nodding.

Around seven Jethro walked up Jenny's steps, his daughter in his hand, sitting in her carrier. He reached out, hitting the doorbell and heard the chimes throughout her house. Moments later, her feet pounded on the stairs, and she swung the door open a smile on her face, dressed in a strapless, teal jumpsuit. "Hey!" she greeted, reaching down to tickle the baby.

"Hey. I couldn't get a hold of her babysitter," he explained, his expression somewhat peeved.

"That's okay, " she assured him with a teasing smile, grabbing the little girl out of her carrier, "I was hoping you would. I like her better anyway."

He shook his head, shutting the door behind him.

He walked into the kitchen behind her, setting Kelly's carrier on the counter. "Does Chicken Alfredo sound okay?" she asked, and his gaze drifted to the steaming dish on the table.

"Sounds great," he said, and she smiled, only to break into laughter as Kelly stuck her hands in the red head's mouth.

"What are you doing?" she cooed, tickling the dark haired baby, sending her into a fit of giggles.

As Jenny cleared the table an hour later, Jethro sat back in his chair looking altogether quite satisfied. "That was great," he praised, "Man I haven't had a home cooked meal since-" he faltered, his unspoken words hanging in the air. _Since Shannon._

"I'm glad Jethro," she whispered, smiling softly.

Six months later, Jenny and Jethro stood in her kitchen, a pot of spaghetti sauce on the stove. She turned the sauce off, turning to the man in her kitchen. "Jethro could you-?" she stopped, bringing her hand to her mouth in an attempt to stifle a laugh. A splotch of sauce had flicked from the spoon across his left cheek. "I'm sorry," she giggled. She shrieked when he caught her by surprise, tossing her over her shoulder. "Jethro!" put me down!" she demanded. He continued into the living room, even as she smacked at his back. "Jethro!" she laughed, "Jethro put me down!"

He stopped as Kelly giggled in her playpen, clapping her hands together. "You think this is funny too huh?" Jenny laughed at the little girl, and swatted Jethro's back. "Put me down you airhead," she giggled. He swatted at her butt, and she gasped. "Jethro!"

He chuckled, loosening his grip so that she could slide down. "Bite me," she hissed, turning to walk away from him, though the glint of amusement in her eyes made it clear that she was not really upset.

Thirty minutes later the three of them sat around the table, Kelly in Jenny's lap. It had become a tradition of sorts for the three of them to have dinner at Jenny's house every Friday. It had started with her inviting him over every so often, and after some time, she had come to expect him. Along with that came a closer bond between not just Jenny Jethro, but Jenny and Kelly as well. She had become the child's companion of choice, and was her caretaker when her father was deployed.

"Food's good Jen," Jethro praised around a mouthful of food, and she smiled.

"I'm glad," she laughed, looking up at him before allowing her gaze to drift back to the baby in her arms. "She seems to like it too," she murmured in amusement as the baby opened her mouth wide again.

After they had eaten, and Jenny had cleaned up the kitchen, she stepped out into the living room, smiling at the sight before her. Jethro sat with his daughter on his lap, speaking to her softly.

Kelly noted the presence of the red head, her eyes lighting up, "Mama!" she shrieked, and Jenny gasped, the glass of bourbon she held in her hand shattering to the floor, her face full of shock and fear. Her eyes darted to meet Jethro's, but his held the same expression of utter shock and astonishment as hers.

**A/n: So good? *crosses fingers* ****:)****Happy Thanksgiving!**


	4. Chapter 4

A/n: Hey guys :) Sorry It's been so long. I've been dealing with some major personal stuff lately, but it was brought to my attention by MariskaBaby92 that I have been MIA far too long. So I'm sorry! :( This chapter has been in progress for about two weeks I think lol. I've been typing bits and pieces here and there, so I hope you like it!

Jenny crossed the room, leaving the mess of alcohol forgotten in the floor. She took the grinning baby from a still shocked Jethro, kissing the baby on her nose. "Give me your wallet," she instructed Jethro, and he did as he was asked, though his actions were almost robotic like, as if he were on autopilot.

"No baby. I'm not your mommy," Jenny whispered, pulling out a photo she knew Jethro kept in his wallet. _There were times she wished she was the mother of the beautiful baby girl in her lap, but she was only twenty-four. She was by no means, ready to take on the responsibility of being someone's mother. Though she thought to herself, she may as well be. _"This is your mommy," she whispered, pointing out a smiling Shannon in the 2½ x 3 ½ inch Polaroid. "Her name was Shannon, and she loved you very much. And she loved your daddy too, and he loved her," she continued, looking up to the man in question, somewhat startled by the intensity in his gaze. "But, she's with all the angels now, watching over you and your daddy every single day. And every morning she looks down here, and says, 'Look how pretty my baby girl turned out.' That's your mommy," she emphasized once more.

Kelly watched Jenny for a moment, before smiling, her dimples clearly visible, and cooed "Mama!" once more. Jenny smiled softly, if a bit sadly, and hugged the baby to her without a word, resting her cheek gently on her head. She pulled back, running a hand over the child's soft, dark hair, but her gaze drifted over the top of her head, meeting Jethro's. His face was otherwise impassive, but his eyes; his eyes held a whirlwind of emotions, none of which Jenny could place distinctly.

An hour later, Kelly had nodded off in Jenny's lap, and both adults sat in silence. They had been sitting in an uncomfortable silence for the past ten minutes, and neither of them could take it anymore. "I'm sorr-" they both started.

"I'm sorry Jen," Jethro apologized, at nine years her senior, they got along surprisingly well, but he had never wanted to make her feel that his child was her burden to bear. She was great with Kelly, but she was not Jenny's child. She should not have to feel that she needed to have that responsibility. "I didn't think she would-I don't want you to feel like you have to fill that spot. You're great with her, but you don't have to-"

She cut in, seeing that he was struggling with expressing what he wanted to say. "I never thought that Jethro," she said softly, so as not to wake the baby in her lap. "I wouldn't _try _to take her place. You are my best friend, and I love Kelly, but I am not her mother. I don't want her to think that I am. I want her to know who her mother was," she insisted, before her voice softened to almost a whisper. "I know, that you want her to know who her mother was, and I don't want you to be upset with me, or upset period, because she sees me as one."

He cut her off there, "Jen I'm not mad," he sighed. "She needs someone there to be a mother figure for her. I just don't want you to feel like that person _has _to be you, like it's your responsibility to help raise her. It's not."

"Jethro, I will gladly be that for her, "she insisted, "Trust me, but she needs to know who her real mother was."

He wrapped his arm around the young red head, hugging her to him. Never, did he think he would be in this position eleven months ago, when Shannon died; or even six months ago when he had met Jenny.

One month later, the Gibbs house was a festive sight; filled with bright balloons, and festive birthday banners. Jenny held a giggly Kelly on her hip, standing in front of round, strawberry cake, decorated with candles. Everyone ended in a chorus of 'Happy Birthday!' and Jenny leaned over, helping the baby blow out her candles. The room exploded in applause and Jenny smiled at the baby, handing her over to her father before grabbing the knife on the table, cutting into the cake.

An hour later, Jenny started to pick up in the living room while Jethro saw the last of the guests out. She looked up as he entered the kitchen, several minutes later, obviously having put Kelly down for her nap. "Thanks," he sighed, "for helping with this."

"No problem," she smiled. "She seemed to have fun. So I'm glad."

"Yeah," he smiled.

By the time the credits to 'Back to the Future' rolled, Jenny had nodded off against Jethro, and he against the headrest of his couch.

Not one hour later, Jenny jumped, gasping, as Kelly's cries jerked her out of her slumber. She looked around, surprised to find that the sun was setting. _How long had she been asleep? _She looked up to Jethro through bleary eyes. "I'm sorry," she laughed, moving to her feet, "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

Several minutes later, Jethro descended the stairs, Kelly in his arms. Jenny smiled tiredly at the two of them, her things in hand, preparing to leave. "Jeh-Jeh," Kelly whined, reaching for the red head. She seemed to finally be understanding who her mother was, and that she was not Jenny. Instead, she had dubbed the redhead with the affectionate nickname.

"Bye Kel," Jenny smiled, tapping the baby's nose. She then turned to Jethro. "See you later," she sighed, and he nodded.

"Bye Jen. "He smiled, shutting the door behind her.

A/n: Sorry it was a tad short, but like I said, life is a bit crazy right now. I hope you liked it regardless though. :) I really just wanted to get a chapter up here for you guys. Thanks for all the reviews! They really did make me smile in the midst of everything :)

**TeamCarlisleandEsme8, NCIS FTW, Penny Shepard, left my heart in Paris, basket-case1880, JET1967, Somerandompersonkt, MariskaBaby92, NYCRhythm0617, and S, you are wonderful, wonderful people :) *Hugs!***


	5. Chapter 5

**A/n: Hey! Thanks for all the reviews guuuys :D Super glad you're liking the story!**

**Enjoy!**

**~2 Years Old~**

Jenny stood in the Gibbs kitchen, flipping a grilled cheese sandwich onto a plate for Kelly, when the brunette little girl toddled into the room. "Jen-Jen. Duice?" she asked, holding out her cup.

"No Kelly. You've had enough. You can have water."

"Duice!" Kelly demanded more adamantly.

"No Kelly," Jenny refused forcefully.

"Duice!" Kelly shrieked, jumping up and down, her face turning red. "Duice!"

"Kelly!" Jenny scolded, horrified at the child's behavior. She had only begun to exhibit such antics in the past few weeks.

"I want duice!" she screamed.

"I think you need a nap," Jenny said, grabbing the girl into her arms.

"No!" Kelly shrieked, "I want my duice!"

Jenny ignored the kicking and screaming of the toddler, making her way up the stairs. She put Kelly in her crib, and shut the door behind her, muffling the girl's cries.

She sighed in frustration, jogging down the stairs. She walked into the kitchen, the sound of the ringing phone meeting her. "Hello?" she answered, and she swore she heard the click of the line cutting. "Hello?" she tried again. "Hello?" Receiving no response, she sighed, placing the phone back on its hook.

She eyed the, now, cold and congealed, grilled cheese sandwich on the counter disdainfully. She snatched it up, taking a bite out of it, and pulled a face, spitting it out into the trashcan, before tossing the rest of the sandwich with it.

Half an hour later, Jenny climbed the stairs, pushing the door to Kelly's room open, intending to check on the child. She smiled softly, if a bit disbelievingly. The small brunette was passed out in her crib, her eyes red rimmed, one of her pigtails loose of its tie, and tangled. The child had obviously cried herself to sleep, probably after, tugging the ribbon out of her hair. Jenny cupped the baby's face softly, and brushed her bangs out of her face.

That night, Jethro walked through the door, dressed in his uniform, his face lined with weariness. "Hi," she greeted softly from her place on the couch.

"Hey," he sighed, "How was Kelly?"

"It was an interesting day," she chuckled wryly.

"Jeez Jen, I'm sorry. I'll deal with it."

"It's alright Jethro," she laughed, "I think she's just hitting her terrible twos."

"Yeah," he sighed, "Where is she?"

"Asleep."

He nodded. After hearing about Kelly's behavior, he hated to ask what he was about to. "I'm getting sent to Langley for the weekend. Do you think you could watch her?"

"Don't I always," she smiled.

That weekend, Jenny stood at the airport, Kelly in her arms, while they saw Jethro off. "Wave bye," she whispered, waving, and Kelly cocooned her head into the side of the red head's neck, waving to her father.

"Jen-Jen. Nugget?" she asked, and Jenny smiled.

"I think we can do that."

Saturday afternoon, Jenny sat in the backyard with Kelly, dressed in a pair of denim shorts and one of Jethro's old shirts, while Kelly sat in only her diaper. The red head had laid out an old sheet, and set out a multitude of finger paints for Kelly.

Jenny dragged her finger through the yellow paint, and then the red, painting an orange sun on her paper. Kelly vocalized, holding out her paper to the red head. Jenny looked up, and smiled. "Very pretty," she praised, and Kelly smiled, dragging a green line down her paper.

After Kelly had gone to bed, and the sun had long set, Jenny lay passed out on the couch, a book in hand. She was pulled out of her slumber for some reason, and opened her eyes slowly. Through bleary vision, she started to make out the blurry shape of a person. Her eye focused, and she jumped up, "Shit!" She quickly clamped a hand over her mouth, directing her next statement at the child in front of her. "Don't tell your daddy I said that." Kelly stood in front of her, her hair all over her head, rubbing her eyes. "How did you get out of bed?" Jenny asked disbelievingly.

"I scared," she whimpered, and only then, did Jenny notice the bright flashes of light, and the thunder rumbling through the house.

"It's just a thunderstorm honey," Jenny soothed, lifting the baby into her lap.

Kelly simply buried her head into Jenny's neck, holding tight to the red head. Jenny rubbed a comforting hand over her back, rocking her back and forth.

Monday morning, Jethro walked up the steps to his home, smiling at the prospect of seeing his daughter. As he made it to the front door though, he heard screams, and shoved his key into the lock, pushing the door open. The panic instantly drained from his face though, at facing Jenny's back, as she chased Kelly around, the little girl, shrieking in laughter.

Jenny laughed swinging Kelly up into her arms, and spun to face Jethro. "Look who's here," she cooed, and Kelly scrambled out of the red head's arms.

"Daddy!" she squealed, running to her father, who squatted down to catch her.

"Hey Kel," he laughed, taking her in her arms as he stood.

Jenny stood back against the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, her arms crossed over her chest, a smile on her face.

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them sat on the couch, Jenny and Jethro side by side, Kelly in her father's lap.

Kelly scrambled out of her father's lap, toddling across the floor while he and Jenny talked. As she made her way back across the room, she tumbled to the floor, catching both Jenny and Jethro's attention. "Uh-oh," she said, picking herself up, "M'okay."

Jenny smiled. "You're okay?" she asked as the tot came up in front of them. Kelly nodded, her wavy hair bouncing on her shoulders.

She held out the paper to Jethro, who took it, smiling once he was able to see what it was. On the paper, was a rainbow of lines, and paint splotches Kelly had no doubt spent quite a bit of time on. On the back, in familiar loopy scrawl, were the words, _For Daddy: From Kelly._

"This is for me?" he asked, and Kelly nodded, smiling proudly. "Thanks Kel," he smiled, lifting her up, back into his lap.

Jenny gathered her things to leave later that night, still trying to comb out the tangles out of her hair, after the 'makeover' Kelly had given her. Jethro laughed, reaching up to take a dangling barrette out of her hair. "Thanks," she giggled.

"So what do you have planned for tomorrow?" he asked.

She cocked a brow, grinning mischievously, and he laughed. "I've got a hot date. He's an underwear model. Well, he was an ex-con, but he turned his life around, I hope. He's coming over to my place for some fun with chocolate sauce, and strawberries. Let's hope he doesn't try to kill me. He was in for aggravated assault. If you hear me scream you should probably come over." She managed to maintain her stoic expression for all of five seconds before she burst out laughing. "You should've seen your face."

He glared.

"No really. I do have a date, but he isn't an ex-con. Or an underwear model. He's a fireman." She grinned. "Jealous?"

He snorted. "You wish Shepard."

She laughed, leaning up to hug him. "Good night Jethro." As she walked down the porch steps, she tossed over her shoulder, "Don't wait up."

He rolled his eyes, swinging the door shut, her laughter echoing down the walkway.

**A/n: Soo? Didya like it? :) Alright so the story is going to progress fairly quickly for the next few chapters, based on Kelly's age(a year each chapter) until she hits about 5 or 6. Then I'll slow it down again. And there will be more romance-y JIBBS eventually.**


	6. Chapter 6

Gibbs sat in his kitchen, having just put Kelly to bed, when the phone rang. "Hello?" he answered, and his ex-mother in law's voice drifted through the phone, venom lacing her words. "You've replaced my daughter so readily Jethro?" she snapped.

"Susan what are you talking about?" he demanded.

"Don't play dumb," she spat, "I know a woman is living there. Your little tramp answered the phone."

Before he could answer her, the line cut, and he was left altogether very confused.

**~3 Years old~**

Susan had not called since the incident on the phone.

Now, a year later, Kelly was nearly four, and Jenny had become more of a constant in her life than ever before. Currently, they stood in the hallway, Jenny attempting to reason with the child so that they could go out to the store. "Kel don't you think something else would be better?" she tried, in response to the brunettes attire of choice, a bright pink tutu over purple tights. Kelly shook her head, smiling in satisfaction. "That's what you want to wear?" Jenny asked, sighing, smiling softly as Kelly's enthusiastic nod. "Okay," she conceded, and Kelly cheered, running out the open door.

"Kelly be careful," Jenny scolded, and the child slowed, turning back to the red head, an apologetic look on her face. She was quickly lifted up and into the backseat as Jenny hooked her into the car. She swiped the white-rimmed sunglasses from her head, grinning mischievously. Jenny fixed her with a look and she looked down bashfully.

"Can I?" she asked, referring to the glasses, and Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she sighed, and Kelly grinned, sliding the, much too big glasses over her face. Jenny laughed, shutting the door of her Volkswagen behind her. Sliding into the driver's seat, Jenny turned around, smiling at the toddler in the backseat. "Ready?" she asked.

"Yep," Kelly nodded, popping the 'p.' As they pulled out of the driveway, she called out to the woman in the front seat. "Jen-Jen? Can you- Can you put in the Cindewella tape?" she asked, swinging her feet.

The red head reached across into her purse, pulling out the aforementioned tape, and slid it into the cassette player.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled into the Winn Dixie parking lot, and Jenny pulled her key out of the ignition and walked around to the back, lifting Kelly out of her car seat. After making sure the doors were locked, she took the little girls hand in hers as they made it across the parking lot.

Once they made it inside, Jenny grabbed a cart, swinging Kelly up and into the front, dropping her purse beside the tot.

Not thirty minutes later, they stood in the checkout line, a multitude of things in their cart. Kelly reached for Jenny's face, grabbing it between her hands, and Jenny scrunched up her nose at her, sending the girl into a fit of giggles. Kelly leaned forward, gracing the red head with a kiss, and Jenny smiled, tapping the toddler on the nose affectionately.

Little did they know, an elderly woman had been watching their interactions with a fond smile, and she spoke up from behind them. "It's so nice to see a mother so invested in her child," she offered with a smile, "It's quite obvious you love her very much. And your daughter is just gorgeous. She looks just like you."

Jenny was about to smile, and simply thank the woman, but Kelly beat her to it. "She's not my mommy," Kelly said, her face falling a bit, "She's Jen-Jen.".

At the woman's confused look, Jenny attempted to explain. "I'm more of an honorary aunt. Her father and I are close." That was all she felt needed to be said, and it seemed to satisfy the woman.

"Well regardless, she's a beautiful child," she praised.

"Thank you," Jenny smiled, moving up to the counter, greeting the cashier.

As Jenny unhooked Kelly from her car seat, having put the groceries in the house, she noticed the change in the child's demeanor. "What's the matter Kel?" she asked.

"Why don't you wanna be my mommy?" she asked with watery eyes.

Jenny's face fell, and at the look Kelly was giving her, she thought she might cry too. "Oh honey," she sighed, lifting the little girl out of the car seat, and into her arms. Kelly wrapped her arms around the red head's neck, burrowing her face in her neck.

Jenny carried her up the driveway, and shut the door behind them, locking it. She sat on the couch, so that Kelly was in her lap. "Kel? Kel, look at me honey." Kelly pulled her face out of her neck, looking at the red head, her bottom lick stuck out, her eyes watery. "Kel you have a mommy. She's just with the angels now. God wanted her to come back and live with him, and when God wants you there's nothing you can do."

"But mommies see their babies. Jessie said so. Her mommy does. You don't like me Jen-Jen?" she asked pitifully.

"No Kel," Jenny insisted. "Of course I like you, I love you."

"Then how come you're not my mommy?"

"That's just not how it works peanut. God picks your mommy too."

"But why did he make her go away?" Kelly demanded.

That was the question Jenny had no answer for, and all she could say was, "I don't know."

"It's not fair. I wanna have a mommy too."

"I know it's not fair. But, I promise I'll do everything a real mommy does okay?" she said, brushing the child's hair back. "Just don't forget your mommy huh?"

Kelly nodded, though her face had lifted no more.

By the time she heard the sound of keys in the door, Jenny had put Kelly to bed, and sat on the couch, tapping her foot against the floor. She was on edge.

Jethro made his way through the foyer, trying his best to be as quiet as possible. When he entered the living room though, his brows creased. "Everything alright Jenny?" he asked.

She was quiet for a moment before she spoke softly. "I can't keep doing this Jethro," she whispered, moving to her feet.

He eyed her in confusion. "Doing what?"

"_This_," she sighed, "Playing Kelly's mother. I _can't_ fill Shannon's shoes Jethro, and it's only confusing Kelly. She's miserable. Maybe it's better if I stayed away for a while."

He had not been expecting that. "Jen come on. You leaving will only make it worse. Kelly isn't miserable, but she will be if you leave too."

"You haven't been with her all day. Trust me, she is miserable," she insisted. "I can't keep doing this to her, or me. Jethro every time she asks me why God took her mother from her, or why all the other kids at daycare have a mommy but she doesn't, or why I don't love her enough to be her mother…"

"Jenny," he tried, but she shook her head.

"Just…give me a few days okay? I need some time Jethro. It's getting to be a lot, maybe too much," she whispered, brushing past him, and out the door, leaving him standing in the living room, a shocked look on his face.

He sighed, rubbing out the wrinkles between his brows, and headed up the stairs, toward his daughter's room.

**A/n: I hope you liked it guys :) And I probably won't have another update before Christmas, so Merry Christmas! :D**

**alix33, andriaallen, DD Agent, left my heart in Paris, thanx for reviewing guys :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Kelly nearly knocked her father over as she came flying down the stairs, flowing down her cheeks. "No!" she whined, and in her haste missed a step, and tripped, tumbling to the foot of the stairs.

Jethro was at her side in an instant, panic coursing through his veins at the sight of his unconscious three year old. "Kel," he tried, tapping her face, "Come on Kel. Wake up baby please." When still she did not respond, he sprinted out the door.

Outside, Jenny was about to stick her key in the lock when something caught her eye. Jethro rushed down his driveway, with what could only be, Kelly's limp form in his arms. She panicked. "Jethro?" she called, already taking off across the green. "What happened?" she demanded, taking the child from him in auto piloted movements.

"She fell down the stairs," he said, his breathing heavy, opening he door for her. She stepped in, Kelly in her arms, before he closed it, and ran around to the driver's side.

Jenny looked to him without a word, taking in his set jaw, the set line of his mouth, but it was his eyes that got her; normally an icy blue, they were now the color of midnight sapphires.

Moments after Kelly had been wheeled away on a stretcher, Jenny ran a hand through her hair, exhaling heavily. "How?" she breathed, "I thought she was asleep. I wasn't even in the house yet."

"I think she heard you. About leaving. She was going after you, and she missed a step."

"Oh my God," she breathed, sinking to the floor, fearing her legs would not support her. "Oh my God," she repeated. "This is my fault. This is all my fault. I though she was asleep. I wouldn't have said it if I thought here was even an inkling that she could hear me."

"Jenny it's not your fault," he contradicted her vehemently.

"Do not try to make this better Jethro," she snapped, "You can't." They simply looked at each other in silence, before she spoke again, softer his time, and disbelieving. "Why aren't you angry? Screaming at me? Something? Your daughter is in the hospital because of me Jethro. You of all people, should not be trying to make me feel better."

He hugged her to him without a word, and she broke down in sobs.

Several hours later, Jenny and Gibbs sat in the waiting room, her nodding off against his shoulder, when a deep voice sent them shooting out of their chairs. "Family for Kelly Gibbs."

They waited as the doctor crossed the floor. He smiled when he reached them and they both exhaled a breath neither knew they had been holding. "She's going to be fine," he assured them, "Perhaps a little disoriented when she wakes, and she'll have quite the headache, but no lasting damage that I can see from here. She's a very lucky child." He paused before broaching his next topic, knowing that people did not normally take too well to the questions. "Now, I do have to ask, how this happened?"

"Can this wait?" Jethro asked, and the doctor nodded.

"Sure," he agreed. "Just know that I will have to ask eventually. We'll have to question Kelly as well."

Jethro nodded curtly, and brushed past the doctor in the direction of his daughter's room, Jenny at his heels.

Hours later, Kelly woke, and as her vision cleared, she could make out her father's figure, his head in his hands. "Daddy?" she moaned, and his head shot up.

He smiled, moving forward, and brushed her hair out of her face. "Hey Kel," he whispered, "How're you feeling?"

"My head hurts," she moaned, bringing a small hand to her forehead.

"Yeah I know," he sympathized, "It'll get better though."

Her bottom lip started to quiver as a thought crossed her mind, and she cast her gaze down. "Jen-Jen go-ed bye-bye?" she asked, her eyes starting to water.

"No Kel. She's here, she just went to get some food," he assured the little girl, and as if on cue, the red head stepped through the door, her eyes going wide at seeing Kelly awake.

Kelly immediately broke down in hysterics, reaching out for her. "Please don't go Jen-Jen," she pleaded. "I won't ask about my mommy no more, I promise. Don't go," she cried.

"No baby, "Jenny soothed, setting her sandwich on the table, before dropping to her knees at the child's bedside, "You can ask about your mommy all you want. I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?" Kelly sniffed.

"Promise," Jenny laughed, cupping Kelly's face affectionately.

**~ 4 Years Old ~**

"Jen-Jen!" Kelly screamed, jumping into her father's bed, where the red head was currently residing.

Jenny gasped, jumping awake, familiar blue eyes staring into hers, the weight of the child on her chest. "Kelly," she rasped.

"Come on Jen-Jen," Kelly urged, jumping up and down over the red head, "It's time for school."

"Okay. Okay, I'm up," she sighed. As Jethro was currently deployed, Jenny was taking Kelly to her first day of preschool. She rubbed her eyes, squinting at the sun streaming in through the window. She was beginning to regret her decision from the previous night of giving Kelly access to any kind of sweets, as well as several cans of silly string. She had spent the entire night cleaning up the back yard.

She eyed the clock on the bedside table, groaning at the time, 10:30.

An hour later, they stood in the hallway, Kelly jumping up and down, a grin splitting her face. "Hey Jen-Jen?"

"Yes sweetheart?" Jenny asked, her voice soft with exhaustion.

"Are you excited too for school. We're gonna have fun huh?"

"You will. Grown-ups don't go to school," Jenny explained.

"Where do you go?" Kelly asked, confused.

"Work," Jenny replied simply.

"Where do you work?" Kelly asked, as they walked out the door, Jenny dressed in a forest green, high-waisted pencil skirt, and cream secretary blouse, under a matching green jacket, Kelly in denim overalls over pink t-shirt, a pair of ruffled ankle socks, and a pair of jelly shoes on her feet. Jenny had pulled the child's hair into a ponytail, and curled it, so that it bounced on her shoulders as she ran down the steps.

"I work at my business," Jenny said, opening the door to her car, lifting the child up and into it.

"What's your business do?" Kelly queried as Jenny hooked her in.

"I make people's houses look pretty," she said, and what Kelly said next, made her bust out in laughter.

"Can you make daddy's house look pretty?" she asked.

Jenny simply replied through her laughter, "Your daddy couldn't afford me."

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up to Kelly's school, as several children walked up the steps with their mothers or fathers.

They made their way down a short hallway before they arrived in a fairly large classroom painted blue, full of things for the children to explore. Kelly shrugged her bag off her shoulders, for Jenny to take, and took off toward the tall shelf of books. Unlike many of the other children, Kelly had already been taught to read and write. Jenny laughed as a young blonde woman came up beside her. "Hi, I'm Terri James," she introduced herself, holding out a friendly hand.

"Jenny Shepard," Jenny said, taking the offered hand. "And that one," she continued, nodding to Kelly, "is Kelly."

"She's seems very bright," the blonde praised. "She can read?"

Jenny nodded in confirmation, and as if on cue, Kelly called across the room to her. "Jen-Jen, come listen to me read," she said, and Jenny smiled, turning to the woman she assumed to be the teacher in silent question. At the woman's insistence, they made their way over to the young brunette. The red head took a seat in one of the, much to small, chairs. Kelly scooted closer to her, and began to read. "Once upon a time, in…" she faltered.

"Spain," Jenny supplied, and Kelly smiled, before continuing.

"…in Spain, there was a little bull named Fer-din-and," she sounded out each syllable, "All the other little bulls…" Ten minutes later, she finished, "And for all I know he is sitting there still, under his favorite cork tree, smelling the flowers just…" she stopped, looking up at the smiling red head, "What's that word?" she asked.

"Quietly," Jenny said, and Kelly nodded, before ending the story.

"He is very happy."

"That was really good Kel," Jenny praised, running a hand over the child's hair affectionately, eliciting a face splitting grin from the brunette.

"Can you read me one?" she asked, holding out, 'Red Riding Hood.'

Jenny shook her head apologetically. "I have to go to work, peanut. I'll be back to get you at 3:45 though okay?" Kelly nodded, and Jenny moved to her feet. "Have fun jumping bean." she said, a name she had affectionately dubbed the energetic child with, bending down to hug her goodbye.

As she made it to the door, she was stopped by a hand on her arm. She spun to face, Terri James, Kelly's teacher. She eyed the smiling woman expectantly. "Sorry," Terri apologized, "I didn't mean to startle you. Kelly really is very bright you know. I'm not even sure that she needs to be in preschool. She would probably do well skipping to kindergarten actually."

Jenny smiled, her gaze drifting to the child in question. "Her father is deployed until next week actually," she said, "Maybe we could talk about it then." Terri nodded, and Jenny smiled, turning on her heel, her heels clicking against the tile of the floor.

At precisely 3:45 that afternoon, appeared in the doorway of Kelly's classroom. She smiled, seeing her giggling with a group of girls. Her teacher saw Jenny first, and called the child's name. Kelly looked up, and grinned at the sight of the red head. She ran toward her, tugging a blonde haired little girl with her. "This is Jen-Jen," she said, and Jenny smiled, squatting down to the girls' level.

"Hi," she greeted, smiling at the curly haired blonde. "I'm Jenny."

The blonde giggled, waving. "I'm Maddie."

As they walked down the steps, Jenny turned to Kelly. "Did you like it?" she asked.

"Yeah. It was so fun," Kelly enthused, "I made lotsa friends, and Miss James is really nice. I can't wait 'til tomorrow."

Jenny smiled. "I'm glad."

When they reached home Kelly was still going on about her day. "…And Bobby tried to kiss me, but I pushed him away. He fell on the floor," she giggled.

"Kelly!" Jenny laughed, the scolding her voice failing to come out, "That isn't nice."

**~ One Week Later ~ **

Jenny and Kelly stood at the airport, in the loading are, waiting for Jethro. Kelly grew anxious as people started to unload. "I don't see him," she said, looking up at Jenny.

"He'll be here," she assured the young child, "Don't worry."

Sure enough, the hardened Marine, came into view. Kelly saw him before he saw her. "Daddy!" she shrieked in joy, taking off toward him.

"Kelly!" Jenny scolded, taking off after her, but the anger was replaced with fear, as the child tripped, falling to the floor, and was kicked by someone in the unaware mob of people. Both adults, took off at a sprint toward her, Jenny reaching her first. She did not think she had ever moved so fast, as she scooped Kelly up, her eyes flitting over the child in concern. Jethro appeared at her side a split second later, his expression reflecting Jenny's.

"I'm okay," Kelly assured the adults, before turning to her father. "Missed you daddy."

Gibbs laughed, taking his daughter from Jenny. "I missed you too Kel."

**A/n: Good? I hope :) Thanks for the reviews, Brii Taylor, MariskaBaby92, Paris-eternellement, JET1967, left my heart in Paris, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, nciscsinyluver, thump, Tali 101, you guys are awesome! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**~Five Years Old~**

Jenny sat across from her father outside a rustic café in downtown D.C. It was odd to be having a face-to-face conversation after so many years. Her life had certainly changed since he had last seen her. His career had gotten in the way of his relationships with both of his daughters. From what she understood, Heather refused to speak with him, though seeing as the man had failed to show up to her wedding, it was no wonder. She pierced the chicken on her plate with her fork and stuck it in her mouth. She swallowed and continued their conversation, which had by then turned to Jethro and Kelly.

"They're great dad. They really are. Kelly, she's so full of energy, and just a great kid. And Jethro, he's…" she trailed off, smiling wistfully before continuing. "He's great."

Jasper noticed the look in his daughter's eyes at the mention of the man: Jethro. She had repeatedly insisted that they were only friends, but he could not help thinking that there was more. He smiled. He really had missed a lot in the past five years. It was hard to believe it had been that long since they had physically seen each other. "They sound great Jen." He smiled at the use of the nickname. She had only ever allowed him to call her that. "So the interior design thing, how's that going?"

"Good," she said, smiling proudly. "I pulled in six figures last year."

His eyes widened. He had to admit, he had not exactly supported her when she chose interior design to utilize her M.B.A.

"I'm really proud of you Jen," he praised. "You seem to be doing really good."

After they had finished their meal, Jenny got her things together while her father paid the bill. Jasper tipped the waitress and then turned to his daughter.

"Well, let's go meet these people who are so wonderful," he said and Jenny rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

The drive over was slightly awkward. Neither of them knew what to say. Jenny always had been a daddy's girl while her sister followed their mother around like a mini-me, but Jenny and her father had not been on the best of terms as of late.

An hour later, Jenny pulled into her driveway, her father in the passenger's seat. She caught sight of Kelly in the front yard and smiled. The little girl shrieked in laughter as she ran through the front yard sprinklers in a ruffled bathing suit. Her dark hair was pulled back in pigtails, bouncing around her head as she jumped back and forth. The redhead parked the car and stepped out. Her father followed suit. Kelly heard the car door slam, and she stopped. Her head shot up, and she grinned at the sight of the familiar red hair.

"Aunt Jenny!" she shrieked, running across the lawn.

Jenny squatted down just in time to grab the child as she flew into her arms. "Hello, miss."

Kelly giggled. "I'm glad you're back. Where did you go?"

"To see my dad," Jenny replied. She then pulled a face at the child. "You're all wet," she complained. Her shirt was now covered in wet splotches courtesy of Kelly Gibbs.

"Sorry," Kelly apologized, but her face soon lit up. "Do you wanna play with me?"

"How about later?" Jenny proposed. "Do you want to meet my dad?"

Kelly grinned, and nodded. Jenny smiled and turned to her father, who was standing behind her. "This is Kelly," Jenny introduced the child to her father.

Jasper smiled.

"Hello, Kelly," he said. "I'm Jasper."

Kelly giggled. "Your name is funny," she said. "My daddy has a funny name too."

"Kelly!" Jenny scolded, but Jasper waved it off, smiling at the young child.

"Yeah-it is," he admitted. "My dad picked it, though. Not me."

Kelly grinned. "That's what my daddy says too."

It was then that Jenny realized Jethro was nowhere to be found.

"Speaking of which…" she murmured. "Kelly, where's Daddy?"

Kelly grinned guiltily and Jenny narrowed her eyes.

"Kelly, where is your father?" she repeated.

Kelly wriggled out of the red head's arms, taking off across the lawn, giggling madly. Jenny was quick on her heels. Kelly pushed her front door open and led them into the living room. What they found there Jenny had to struggle to keep her composure at. She turned to Kelly, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat, and failed to scold the child.

"Kelly," she laughed. Jethro laid on the couch fast asleep, his face covered in makeup shades only a five year old would choose.

Suddenly, Jenny got an idea, and grabbed a camera out of her purse. She squinted through the eyepiece, and snapped a picture. The flash jerked Jethro out of his sleep, sending Jenny and Kelly into a laughing fit. He narrowed his eyes at them, and Jenny sobered herself.

"Jethro," she scolded, trying extremely hard to maintain a stern expression. "You cannot fall asleep with Kelly alone in the house. Have you lost your mind?"

Unbeknownst to them, Jasper stood outside the open door. His daughter's voice always had carried rather well. His eyebrows shot up at her scolding. He could only wonder what this man was going to do at being told how to raise his own to child. However, Jethro's response was not one he expected.

"Maybe I wouldn't be asleep if you hadn't kept me up all night, Jen," he muttered. She grinned, knowing what connotations that sentence brought with it; despite how wrong they might be. The mention of an innocent, though painstaking night of last minute tax returns could easily be mistaken for other extra-curricular activities.

Jasper tensed at the use of the nickname. She hated to be called Jen. She had only ever allowed one person to call her that, and it was him. He now knew just how special this man had to be.

In the living room, Jenny eyed the dark-haired man peevishly, or attempted to, but in the end, she grinned.

"I can't take you seriously when you look like this," she laughed. She tugged him out of the chair, and they headed up the stairs. "Kelly, go play," Jenny called over her shoulder.

Several minutes later, Jenny's soft laughter filled the small confines of Jethro's bathroom. She stood in a subconsciously intimate position, their bodies mere inches from touching. She shook her head, wiping the last of the makeup from his face.

"Much better," she murmured, a smile gracing her face, and patted his cheek affectionately.

"Thanks," he said softly. He was suddenly all too aware of how close they were.

He moved to his feet, unintentionally knocking her off hers. He caught her around her waist and she tried to ignore the feelings brought about by of her body being pressed against his.

"Thanks," she laughed nervously.

There was the sound of a cough from the doorway and they both turned abruptly toward the noise.

"Dad," Jenny breathed. For some reason, she suddenly felt as if she were a teenager and had been caught in bed with a boyfriend. Again. Jethro eyed her quizzically.

"This is my dad," she offered before turning to her father. "Dad, this is Jethro."

Jasper held his hand out in an attempt to diffuse what could quickly become an awkward situation. "Jasper Shepard."

Jethro reciprocated the action. "Jethro Gibbs. Nice to meet you."

It was then that Kelly appeared in the now crowded doorway as well. "Aunt Jenny, can you come play _now_?" she asked in exasperation.

Jenny rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yes Kelly, I will come play now."

**~ Six Years Old ~**

Jenny had been tied up at work all day, and would be for the rest of the weekend. She had been forced to cancel on Jethro and Kelly. They had planned to go horse riding.

Regardless of Jenny's absence, Jethro fully intended to utilize the time with his daughter. He was shipping out to Kuwait in two weeks, and he would be gone longer than ever before; six months.

He mounted his horse, smiling at his daughter. She still looked so much like her mother. She was her spitting image, aside from the eyes; she had his eyes. "Ready?" he asked, and she nodded. A mischievous grin split her face, and she took off at a gallop. "Kelly!" he scolded, laughed before taking off after her.

"I'm going to win, Daddy!" she called, her laughter bringing a smile to his face; and win she did. She made it to the end of the beach only seconds before him. He tried to imprint that picture in his head as he watched her then, her young face lit up with laughter.

Later that night, they sat on the beach around a campfire. Kelly grinned and pulled her marshmallow out of the flames before blowing on it. She took a bite, and giggled as the fluffy treat oozed in her mouth. "You're coming to my recital next week, right daddy?" Kelly asked, a hint of doubt coloring her voice.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he assured her.

Keeping with his promise, when Kelly peeked out of the curtains in search of her father a week later, he sat in the front row. She grinned, disappearing back behind the drapes, and ran off to get dressed.

Jenny slipped in five minutes later, looking somewhat frazzled. She had obviously rushed to get there. She took the seat beside Jethro, and smiled brightly at him. "Hey," she greeted him breathlessly before setting her purse on the floor.

"Hey," he replied.

She barely had time to look over the program before the lights dimmed, and the music to 'The Nutcracker' began to play.

Two hours later, the cast danced off the stage, and Kelly dropped into a kneeling position, the Nutcracker in her hand and a grin on her face. The spotlight faded so that the room was blanketed in complete darkness, and the audience broke out in applause.

Ten minutes later, Jenny waited while Jethro went backstage to find Kelly. He found her hugging Maddie, who stood with her mother. The blonde child had played the Sugar Plum Fairy in the ballet.

"Bye Maddie!" she called, waving as the blonde walked away with her mother.

Kelly turned around to see her father smiling at her, a bouquet of red roses in hand, and grinned. "Daddy!" she squealed, running to him. She jumped into his open arms.

"Did I do good Daddy?" she asked.

"You were the best Clara I've ever seen," he praised and her grin widened. "These are for you," he said, handing her the roses.

"Thanks, Daddy," she giggled, fingering the petals gently.

Once they arrived home, Jenny helped Kelly to get ready for bed while Jethro waited downstairs. The six year old had bathed, and Jenny had taken her makeup off for her. They sat on Kelly's bed. Jenny sat cross-legged, and Kelly sat back against her while the older red head brushed the tangles out of her hair. Jenny pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and nudged her forward gently. "There you go," she said, sliding off the bed. She tucked Kelly in, running an affectionate hand over her hair. "Good night Kel."

"G'night, Aunt Jenny," Kelly yawned.

Jenny moved to turn off the lights, but Kelly's voice stopped her. "Aunt Jenny?" she asked, "Can you ask Daddy to come read me a story?"

Jenny smiled. "Yeah. I'll tell him. Are you going to stay awake long enough?" she teased, and Kelly giggled.

Jenny shut the door behind her, and descended the stairs to find Jethro in the living room. She smiled softly, sauntering up to him.

"Miss Clara is requesting a story from her father," she said.

He looked up and chuckled. "Is she even awake still?"

Jenny laughed. "Now that is debatable," she said. She felt her eyes growing heavy, and gathered her things to go.

"Good night Jethro," she murmured, and she ran a quick hand down his arm before making her exit.

Two weeks later, Jenny stood outside Jethro's house with Kelly while he tossed his things into the back of his truck. Kelly handed him his hat, a mournful look on her face.

"Don't go, Daddy," she pleaded.

He grabbed her up in his arms and said, "I'll be back Kel, don't worry. Be good for Jen, okay?"

"Why do you have to go?" she demanded.

"Because. It's my job," he replied.

"I don't like your job," she pouted.

He smiled, placing a kiss to her forehead before setting her down. Jenny kept her distance, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. He made his way over to her and tugged her arms apart. "Jen."

"Be careful," she whispered. "Don't get caught in a hail of bullets. Don't get blown up. Don't try to be a hero. Don't be you." She knew that was an impossible request, but she could request it nonetheless. "Just come back safe."

"I will be careful. I will come back safe," he promised.

He hugged her to him, and she whispered against his neck, hoping that Kelly would not hear. "She can't lose you, too," she whispered.

She felt him tense, and maybe hug her a little tighter, before letting go. Kelly held tight to Jenny as she watched her father drive away. Even at six years old, she had the daunting feeling that something bad was going to happen.


	9. Chapter 9

**Kikilia14, alix33, Prettycrazy, left my heart in Paris, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, JET1967, Ncisluver, MariskaBaby92, *Hearts* You're awesome! Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you're still into the story :)**

**I hope you enjoy the new chapter!**

~ 5 Months Later ~

Jenny stood on the sidelines of Kelly's soccer game, shielding her eyes from the blinding sunlight. She cheered when Kelly made a well-aimed goal.

"Good job Kel!" she yelled, fanning herself with the empty popcorn bag she had folded in half.

Kelly looked up and grinned at the sound of her voice. She waved before getting back into position.

"Hey, Jenny!"

Jenny looked around at the sound of her name. Her smile faded as her eyes fell on Maddie's mother. Ellen had been the one to call her name and she wore a grave look on her face.

"What?" Jenny asked.

Ellen jerked her head backwards in the direction of two uniformed Marines. There was only reason they would be there and the thought of it made her blood run cold. She felt like screaming or throwing up, but forced her voice to remain level when she addressed the Marines.

"Thanks," she sighed. "Officers," she greeted the men.

She turned to Karen, who was the only one within earshot and asked, "Could you give us a minute?"

Ellen nodded and obliged, moving back with the other mothers.

"You're Jennifer Elizabeth Shepard?" the taller of the two asked.

"I am," Jenny confirmed.

"There was an explosion," he said, and Jenny was unable to stifle a gasp. "He isn't expected to make it through the night."

Jenny bit the inside of her cheek so hard she thought she would draw blood in an attempt to keep herself from crying.

"But he has a chance, right?" she demanded. "He could still pull through?"

"I wouldn't want to give you any misguided hope ma'am," the younger Marine replied regretfully.

Jenny pressed her lips together and simply nodded as tears sprung to her eyes. She did not speak for fear of losing it altogether.

"I really am sorry," the younger Marine answered sympathetically. They saluted her and then turned and left, leaving Jenny standing there looking as if she had lost a piece of her soul.

Meanwhile, Kelly watched Jenny walk off with the two officers. The distraction temporarily hindered her senses and she was tripped up by a girl on the other team. She fell to the ground and screamed as pain seared through her arm.

Ellen rushed toward the distressed little girl.

"Kelly, honey are you okay?" she asked.

"It hurts," Kelly whimpered.

"I know sweetheart," she said, before turning to one of the other mothers and said, "Go find Jenny."

"It could be broken," Ellen murmured, grimacing at the odd angle of Kelly's arm.

Jenny stood at the sink in the women's restroom. She splashed water on her face and forced herself to stop crying. She dried her face with a paper towel and moved to open the door, but stopped when tears sprung to her eyes once more. She fell back against the wall and brought a hand to her lips. Her stomach churned and at the thought of Kelly and she had to rush to the nearest stall to empty the contents of her stomach. How was she going to tell Kelly? The girl adored her father. He was Superman to her. He had no faults and nothing would ever happen to him in her mind. Jenny hated that she would be the one to shatter the young child's fantasy.

She was rinsing her mouth when Karen, one of the mothers ran through the doorway.

"It's Kelly," she said breathlessly. "She had an accident with another girl on the field."

"What happened?" Jenny demanded, already making her way toward the door.

"One of the girls tripped her on the field and she fell and hurt her arm. It was an accident, but they think it might be broken," Karen said.

Jenny took off at a run, knowing they could take Kelly to the hospital without her if it truly was broken.

She picked up speed as she made it to the field and saw Kelly on the ground surrounded by mothers and team mates.

"Kelly!" she called breathlessly, falling to her knees beside the little turned to her with tear stained cheeks.

"Aunt Jenny, it hurts," she moaned.

"I know Kel," she sighed.

"It looks broken, Jenny," Ellen said. "You should get her to the hospital.

"Yeah," Jenny agreed, carefully lifting Kelly into her arms.

Later that afternoon, Kelly was released from the Children's National Medical Center with a cast on her arm. Jenny felt drained both physically and emotionally. She needed to sleep. She had circles under her eyes that could rival a raccoon's and her all traces of makeup were long gone.

Her mind had been on Kelly for the majority of their time there, but then her thoughts had shifted to Jethro. She was dreading telling the girl about her father. How could she tell her that the single most important person in her life might not becoming back? That she would quite possibly never see him again.

She was awaiting the call that he had made it through the night by some miracle. She was thankful that Jethro had made her Kelly's legal guardian and there would be no custody battles with the child's grandmother. She was on the brink of her breaking point, and that would tip her over the edge.

"Aunt Jenny are you okay?" Kelly asked quietly as they left the hospital. "You look like you were crying."

"I'm fine Kelly," Jenny sighed, exhausted.

"Is daddy hurt?" she asked. "I saw the officers. They only come when somebody's hurt really bad

"We'll talk when we get home," Jenny said.

"He is, isn't he?" Kelly demanded. Then she gasped as something occurred to her.

"Is he dead?" she whispered in terror.

"No," Jenny said with conviction, holding onto the notion that he was simply in critical condition. "He is not dead."

"Then what happened to him?" she asked.

"Kelly, not now," Jenny pleaded. "Let me get you home first, and then we'll talk."

"Tell me!" Kelly demanded.

"Kelly!" Jenny snapped and the young brunette turned away from her in anger.

"I hate you!" Kelly screamed. "I want my dad!"

"Kelly Marie Gibbs," Jenny growled. "You will calm down _right now_."

Her voice brokered no argument and Kelly's lips trembled. "You never tell me anything."

Jenny opened the car door with a withering look and Kelly climbed in without another word.

The drive home was silent. Kelly refused to speak to Jenny and break her vow of silence.

Halfway home, Kelly kicked the passenger's side door.

"Tell me!" she demanded. "I want to know!"

"Kelly!" Jenny scolded, but it was to no avail.

"He's dead! He's dead or you would've told me!" Kelly screamed.

"He is not dead. I told you that," Jenny said adamantly.

"Then what happened?" Kelly demanded. "Officers only come when they're dead or almost. Maddie told me."

Before she could respond, a cacophony of horns and squealing tires sounded and realizedthat she had driven through the a red light She saw the front bumper of a blue Fordjust in time to throw her hands up to cover her face.

She shielded Kelly as best she could before the truck collided with the driver's side door. She felt her car slide across the intersection. The sound of shattering glass, crumpling metal, and Kelly's blood-curdling screams were the last things she heard before darkness overwhelmed her.

**A/n: Oh yeah...I did that :)**


	10. Chapter 10

NCIS FTW, LuciferAzrealMourningStar, JET1967, alix33, teardrops of ink, left my heart in Paris, PolkadottedAngels, MariskaBaby92, beccababe0125, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, Ncisluver, and Kikilia14 thank you so much for reviewing guys!

_**A/n: **Hope you enjoy this chapter as well :)_

Kelly sat in the children's center of the Washington Medical Hospital Center coloring in a pad one of the nurses had found for her. She had cast on her brpken arm and a series of butterfly stitches on her left arm and cheek where the glass had cut her, but she was otherwise unscathed. The nurses had continuously told her how lucky she was, but they continued to evade her questions regarding Jenny. She was tired of being treated like a china doll. She hated being kept in the dark.

She looked up as Vanesa, a pretty, dark-haired nurse came up beside her. "Hey _chica_," she sighed with a light Argentinean accent, squatting to Kelly's height.

She had been particularly attentive to Kelly, making sure the little girl was comfortable and had something to do.

"There's somebody here for you," she said, nodding back toward the door.

Kelly looked past her to see a short woman with strawberry-blonde hair smiling at her. Kelly did not smile back. "She's from Social Services?" she asked.

"Yeah," Vanesa said, trying to get Kelly to meet her eyes. "She's going to take you until your grandmami gets here."

Kelly tensed at the mention of her grandmother. The woman was a stranger to her. She knew nothing of her aside from the fact that she was her mother's mother. Her father's mother had died long before she was born.

"Do I have to go with her?" she asked.

"Just for a little bit," Vanesa assured her, smiling sympathetically.

"Fine," Kelly acquiesced. "Is my Aunt Jenny okay though?" she asked for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. "Can she come see me later?"

She received the same answer she had been getting all day as well. "She will be. You'll be able to see her soon."

The Social Services caseworker, who Vanesa introduced as Mrs. Scott, stepped forward and smiled guardedly at her.

"Hi Kelly," she greeted the small brunette. "I'm Mrs. Scott. Do you know why I'm here?"

"I know who you are," Kelly replied, thinking that Jenny would scold her for being rude. "You're going to take me with you until my grandma comes."

"That's right," Mrs. Scott said, holding her hand out for Kelly to take. "It won't be so bad, I promise."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hours later, a blonde woman in a white pantsuit walked through the halls of Social Services, her nude-colored kitten heels clicking against the linoleum floors. She toyed with the string of pearls around her neck absentmindedly out of nervous habit.

Finally, she came upon the cubicle with the only real light in the building. A blue eyed woman looked up from her dimly lighted desk and smiled.

"Joanne Fielding?" she asked, and the blonde nodded. "Great. I just need to see some ID. Then, I just have a few things for you to you sign and you can take her and be on your way."

Joanne's eyes were drawn to the small brunette who was fast asleep in the chair opposite the Social worker's desk, her legs curled up into her chest. It pained her that she had never really bothered to know the girl. It was too difficult after Shannon's death. It was not the child's fault that her mother had died, but seeing as Shannon had died giving birth to her Joanne could not help but resent her a little at the time. She looked so much like her mother too.

Joanne looked abruptly as she registered a woman's voice in the background. "Are you alright Mrs. Fielding?" the caseworker asked.

"Fine," Joanne replied, mentally shaking herself.

The younger woman eyed her for a moment before handing her a form on a clipboard. "Sign where it's highlighted in pink and initial where it's yellow," she said.

Joanne briefly glanced over the paper before doing as she was told and handed the clipboard back. She leaned over and scooped her granddaughter into her arms even as her back protested and thanked the caseworker before making her exit.

The following morning, Kelly rubbed her eyes and moaned as she woke up. She blinked her eyes blearily and slid out of bed. The welcome smell of bacon and eggs assaulted her senses as she opened her door and padded down the hall.

She walked into the kitchen and stopped at the sight of unfamiliar blonde hair. Tears sprung to her eyes at the realization that the previous day had not been just a dream. Her nightmare was now her reality.

Joanne turned to her with a smile. "Good morning," she greeted, but Kelly simply stood there. "I'm your grandma," she tried. "Grandma Joanne."

"Where's Aunt Jenny?" Kelly asked and Joanne eyed her sympathetically.

"You don't remember yesterday?" she asked.

"She's really hurt?" Kelly asked, tears strangling her voice.

"She's getting better," Joanne assured her.

"How do you know?" Kelly demanded, her bottom lip quivering.

Joanne sighed and asked, "Do you want something to eat?"

Kelly sat at the table without a word and Joanne forked bacon, eggs, and fruit onto her plate. "Thanks," Kelly whispered.

They sat in silence that way until Kelly spoke again. "Is my daddy dead?" she asked abruptly. "Aunt Jenny wouldn't tell me, but she was crying. I could tell. She doesn't cry unless something really bad happens. Like, really, really, bad. He's dead isn't he?"

"I don't know," Joanne answered truthfully. She watched fresh tears spring to Kelly's eyes and she hated that that was the only thing she could tell her. She hated that she had to be the one to try and comfort her. She hated that she knew so little about her, and did not _how _to comfort her.

Kelly pushed her chair back and ran out of the kitchen. Joanne heard the thumping of her feet on the steps and then the slamming of a door. She debated whether to go after her and ultimately decided to give her some time to herself.

Half an hour later, Joanne climbed the stairs and made her way down the hallway to Kelly's room. The little girl had not left it since her exit from the kitchen thirty minutes before. She hesitated outside Kelly's door before knocking softly.

"Kelly?" she called. Upon receiving no reply she tried again. "Kelly?" Again, no answer.

She pushed the door open and her eyes softened sympathetically for what seemed like the billionth time just that morning. Kelly laid face-down on her stomach and if the sniffles were any indication, she was crying as well.

"Kelly," Joanne sighed, crossing the room.

She sat on the edge of Kelly's bed and pulled the girl to her. To her surprise and relief Kelly did not pull away.

"It's my fault," Kelly cried. "I was being bad and screaming. She got distracted and we crashed. It's all my fault. I told her I hated her and I might not get to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, I promise!"

"Kelly, your Aunt Jenny will be fine," Joanne soothed. "She will be fine, and you'll get to tell how sorry you are. She will forgive you, trust me. No matter what you do, mothers always forgive you."

"She's not my mommy," Kelly whispered dejectedly.

"But she may as well be, right?" Joanne asked, pushing Kelly's hair out of her face. For the time being she pushed aside any qualms she had with Kelly thinking of anyone as her mother other than Shannon. "She acts like a mommy?"

"Yeah," Kelly said, giving her a watery smile.

Joanne returned the smile. "Well, she'll forgive you then," she said.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The following afternoon, Joanne walked through the doors of the hospital, Kelly's small hand clasped tightly in hers. They were there only at Kelly's insistent behest. She had been unrelenting in her request to see Jenny.

As Joanne and Kelly made their way up to the reception desk, the voice of an outraged man became clearer, his voice resonating throughout the waiting room.

"She is my daughter!" he insisted. "I've been away. I only just got the calls and I jumped on a plane! I've been flying for almost ten hours. I want to see my daughter."

"Sir, I would be happy to do that. I just need to see some identification," the receptionist said, an attitude working its way into her voice.

"I don't have any ID!" he snapped, his eyes blazing. "I told you, I had to have my luggage sent over. I just got on a plane. I can't find my passport. I probably dropped it _running out of the airport_! I heard my daughter was in a car crash and I just got on a plane. I am her next of kin."

"A Leroy Jethro Gibbs is her next of kin," the receptionist said. "You told me your name was Jasper Shepard."

Jasper stopped, feeling as if he had just been slapped, pushed to the ground, and kicked in the gut in rapid succession. _Had their relationship gotten that bad that Jenny hadn't trusted him to be there in a medical emergency? Still didn't trust him to be there?_

He was pulled out of his reverie by a familiar, tiny voice.

"Uncle Jasper?" Kelly called from behind him.

He spun to face her, a look of bewilderment on his face.

"Kelly," he laughed in relief, squating to her height. "You're okay?"

Kelly nodded, falling into his arms. He was the first familiar face she had seen since her entire ordeal began.

"She'll be okay right?" she asked, fear coloring her voice. "She won't go away like my mommy did?"

Upon hearing Kelly's words Julie gasped quietly from behind the pair, drawing Jasper's attention to her. He eyed her in guarded confusion and Kelly looked between the two briefly before speaking.

"That's my grandma Joanne," she said. "She came to get me when you weren't here."

Jasper winced at her words. Despite knowing that they had no been meant to be spiteful or cutting, they reminded him of his mistakes with Jenny and Heather. He was never there when he was supposed to be.

He moved to his feet and left one hand resting in Kelly's shoulder before holding his other out to Joanne.

"Jasper Shepard," he said.

She shook the offered hand and replied with a simple, "Joanne Fielding."

After several minutes sparring with the strong-headed receptionist, the three of them were allowed in to see Jenny.

Not five minutes later, they entered Jenny's room and the feeling in it was unnerving. The blinds were drawn and the lights were off, leaving only the light of the halls outside to illuminate the small space. It was so quiet it was almost eerie. The only sound in the room was Jenny's nearly inaudible breathing and the steady beep of the machines she was hooked up to.

Kelly subconciously tightened her grip on her grandmother's hand at the sight of aberrantly immobile redhead. Her normally pale skin now had a ghost like cast to it. Her warm, green eyes were hidden, and there was a nasal cannula in her nose. Whereas she was ususally a force to be reckoned with, she now looked frail and weak in her hospital bed.

Kelly slipped her hand out of Joanne's and slowly made her way toward Jenny.

"Aunt Jenny," she whispered, prodding the woman gently. "Wake up."

She was expectedly unresponsive and Kelly climbed onto the bed, and shook her harder.

"Wake up," she demanded more forcefully. "Please?" she added quieter as tears filled her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I don't hate you, I promise. I didn't mean it," she insisted. "Please get up. Your my mommy. I don't care what you say. Even Grandma Joanne said so. Please wake up," she begged.

Joanne moved forward silently, and pulled the hysterical child off the bed and into her arms.

"We'll come back tomorrow okay? I think you've had enough," she murmured.

Kelly said nothing, by then reduced to gasping sobs. Now was the only time Jenny had never woken when she asked her to.

Later that night, Jenny woke in a dark hospital room smelling of bleach and latex. She tried to sit up, but cried out as pain seared through her left side. Her head was pounding and her entire body was on fire.

Within minutes a doctor entered the room and smiled. "Good to see you awake, Ms. Shepard," he said. "You gave us quite the scare. I can imagine you're in quite a bit of pain."

Jenny murmured in agreement. That was putting it lightly. "Where's Kelly?" she asked. The last thing she remembered was her screaming.

"The child in the car with you?" he queried and she nodded.

"She was relatively unharmed. We released her to Social Services where she was to be retrieved by her grandmother, a Joanne Fielding."

"Oh my God," Jenny muttered, wincing as she took a breath. "When can I leave here?" she asked and the doctor eyed her incredulously.

"We'd like to keep you another day or two at least. You've got three broken ribs and a concussion. You've been unconscious the better part of two days," he said, shining a light in her eyes.

"I hate hospitals," she sighed, falling back into the pillows.

He laughed and said, "I'll try to get you out of here as soon as I can then. Just a few questions, mandatory with head injuries."

"Do you remember what happened?" he asked.

"I was ina car accident," she sighed. "

"Yeah," she conceded.

"What's your full name?"

"Jennifer Elizabeth Shepard."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-nine."

"What year is it?"

"1995."

"Where do you work?"

"Shepard Designs. I own my own business."

"Good," he said. "You seem to have your memory and your vitals are fine. I think you can be out of here and home with your little girl by tomorrow."

"Wait," she called, stopping him as he turned to leave. "What time is it?" she asked.

He checked his watch and replied, "ten til eight."

"Can I call her?"

He smiled. "I'll get a phone in here for you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thirty minutes later, Joanne dashed for the phone having just sent Kelly upstairs to brush her teeth.

"Gibbs residence," she answered.

_"Joanne Fielding?"_came a tired, almost childish sounding alto voice.

"Who is this?" Joanne demanded.

_"Jenny Shepard. Could I talk to Kelly? Is she okay?" _Jenny asked in concern and anxiety.

Joanne's eyes widened in surprise and realization.

"She's fine," she assured the younger woman. "Just a minute."

Upon hearing the call of her name, Kelly appeared promptly at the top of the steps.

"There's someone who wants to talk to you," Joanne said, smiling and Kelly knit her brows in confusion before running down the steps.

She took the phone from her grandmother and held it to her ear. "Hello?" she queried.

Jenny smiled at the sound of her voice. _"Hey, Kel. You okay?"_

Kelly gasped. "Aunt Jenny? You woke up? I came to see you and you didn't wake up."

_"I know," _Jenny said. I heard you.

"Why didn't you wake up?" Kelly asked, hurt.

_"I couldn't," _Jenny said. _"I tried Kelly. I promise, I tried. I just couldn't"_

"I'll come see you now," Kelly said, excited at the prospect of it. "I can come see you now, right?"

_"Not tonight,"_ Jenny laughed. _"You have to go to bed. I'll be here tomorrow."_

"Promise?" Kelly whispered. "You won't go away like my other mommy did?"

Jenny bit her lip to stop the tears that pricked at her eyes. _"I promise," _she said.


	11. Chapter 11

pirate-princess1, LilyEvans98, NCIS FTW, MariskaBaby92, alix33, PolkadottedAngels, Ncisluver, thegirlnextdoor101, left my heart in paris, teardrops of ink, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, and Kikilia14, thanks for all the reviews guys!

_**A/n: **Hope you enjoy this chapter too :)_

The following morning, Jasper woke to see his daughter sitting up in bed. She smiled weakly upon seeing him up.

"Hey Jen," he said. "How long have you been up."

"Couple hours," she replied. "I didn't want to wake you."

"How're you feeling?" he asked, moving forward in his chair.

"I'm okay," she sighed. "I mean my head feels like someone is bashing it into a wall and I can't breathe without feeling like someone is twisting a knife in my side, but other than that I'm good," she laughed.

He smiled. At least she had her sense of humor. Maybe she _was _feeling better. He hesitated before meeting her gaze with a guilty, apologetic one of his own.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here. I should've been," he said.

She scoffed good-naturedly and said, "I'm a big girl, Dad. It's fine. I can take care of myself and Kelly's in good hands."

"Maybe, but you never would've forgiven me if she had been sent to a foster home for _any_ amount of time," he challenged.

She fixed him with a look.

"She wasn't," she sighed. "Dad, there was no way you could have known what happened. You were in Germany for God's sake. You can't baby-sit me my whole life."

"That why you didn't list me as you next of kin?" he asked, and watched her eyes go wide.

"Dad…" she trailed off. She had hoped he would never need to find out about that.

"You don't trust me, Jen?" he asked with a pained, hurt expression.

She sighed heavily before answering, "I do trust you, Dad, but…you weren't a part of my life for a long time."

"But Jethro, you trust him more?" he prodded.

"Dad, don't do this," she begged.

He nodded, taking that as his answer. "Yeah," he whispered.

"Dad, come on," she tried.

He simply smiled tightly and ran a quick hand over her hair as he moved to his feet.

"It's alright, Jen," he assured her, but the look on his face made it very clear that it was quite the contrary.

He always knew there would come a time when there was a man who was more important to his little girl than he.

"I'll be back," he said. "I need some coffee."

When he shut the door behind him, Jenny threw her head back into the pillows with a groan and shut her eyes, her mind on both Jethro, and what could possibly be a re-strained relationship with her father.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that afternoon, Kelly came to see her along with her grandmother. The blonde was certainly Shannon's mother. Her daughter had looked exactly like her sans a few lines and the hair color. She knew nothing of the woman aside from her name, Joanne. Jethro had mentioned it in passing at one point when she had come upon a photo of the elder Fielding.

The two of them entered the room and Kelly ran for Jenny, launching herself into the bed beside her. Jenny cried out softly and winced when Kelly landed too close to her ribs, and Joanne interjected from her place at the door.

"Kelly, be careful," she scolded, and the young girl shrunk back from Jenny, a look of fear in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she apologized quickly, her voice full of distress. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to-"

"I'm fine, Kelly," Jenny cut her off, smiling forgivingly despite the protests of her ribs as she spoke.

Kelly threw her arms around Jenny's neck, careful of the red head this time. "I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me?" she murmured into her neck.

"Honey, it's okay," Jenny insisted, concerned at Kelly's clingy behavior. She had always been an affectionate child, but never to this extent.

"I'll be in the waiting room," Joanne said from the doorway before shutting the door behind her, leaving the two of them alone.

Jenny pulled back slightly, holding Kelly's face between her hands and said, "Kelly, I'm okay. Alright? I'm fine."

"But you weren't. You said you'd never go anywhere, and that every time Daddy had to leave you were gonna be there," she cried. "But it's my fault that you weren't, 'cause I made us crash."

"Kelly, none of this was your fault," Jenny insisted, but Kelly only continued to cry into her shoulder. Jenny sighed and simply rocked the child in her arms, never mind any pain she was in.

Two hours later, Joanne looked up from her book at the call of her name. Her gaze fell on a full-figured, motherly nurse in floral scrubs.

"Ms. Shepard is asking for you," the nurse said, and Joanne moved to her feet, setting the magazine back on the table.

The nurse led her down the hall and Joanne could not help thinking it was unnecessary. She had made it there on her own when she came in.

The nurse pushed the door open and Joanne entered the room to find Jenny sitting up in bed with Kelly sleeping in her arms. The red head smiled guardedly at her and Joanne returned it with difficulty. She fought tears seeing the way Jenny held Kelly, as if she would protect her with her life; the way a mother would. And the red hair didn't help.

She looked exhausted, but it was clear she was very pretty.

"Mrs. Fielding," Jenny greeted Joanne, speaking softly so as not to wake Kelly. "I wanted to thank you for taking such good care of her during all of this."

Joanne sighed, making her way across the room and said, "I should have done it a long time ago. I've been selfish, callow." She paused before speaking again. "She cares for you quite a bit you know?"

"I like to think so," Jenny said with a small smile.

Joanne continued with a cool tone, "She thinks of you like a mother. It's obvious and yet, she calls you Aunt."

Jenny felt she knew what Joanne was insinuating and replied earnestly, "Ms. Fielding, I am not trying to take your daughter's place. I never have."

"I don't suspect you are," Joanne replied, her tone unchanging. "You filled a void in their lives. You seem to have done it quite well."

Jenny was unsure of how to respond to Joanne's ambiguous words and attempted to change the subject.

"Has there been any word on her father?" she asked, dreading the answer.

Joanne watched the genuine pain flashing in the younger woman's emerald orbs and could not help but ponder the nature of Jenny's relationship with her former son-in-law. She was obviously quite a few years his junior.

"He's stable," was her apologetic reply. She was sorry she could not tell her more. "They don't want to give any false hope. It's touch-and-go at the moment. He lost a lot of blood."

Jenny nodded, biting the inside of her lip and hugged Kelly tighter to her.

Joanne watched as the red-head's eyes turned glassy from tears she refused to shed and she instantly felt pang of sympathy for the young woman.

**~4 Weeks Later~**

Jenny slipped out of bed, careful of her ribs. They were nearly healed, but she was still sore. She ran a hand through her tangled locks and slipped her robe on, tying it loosely around her waist. She made her way down the stairs and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Kelly was at school and Joanne had gone out to run errands hours ago. The blonde had been a God-send in past weeks while Jenny got back on her feet. Regardless of her intentions, the red head had been in no shape to care for Kelly alone.

Jenny barely registered the sound of a car door slamming from her place in the kitchen. Upon hearing a key in the door, she stepped into the foyer.

She stopped and exhaled heavily in disbelief. Leroy Jethro Gibbs stood in front of her in full uniform with stitches over his left eye, his arm in a sling, and he favored his left leg, but he was home.

"Jethro," she whispered, praying she was not hallucinating.

She brought a hand to her lips as tears sprung to her eyes. She stood there only a moment before she ran into his arms. He groaned, but held her tight as she locked her arms around his neck like a vice. She sobbed into his shoulder, cradling the back of his neck, running her hands through his hair.

She looked up into his eyes, and she let out a tear-strangled laugh. Her lips brushed his jaw and he held her tighter. Both had temporarily forgotten the blonde in the doorway who ducked out surreptitiously, leaving the two of them alone.

Her head fell to his chest and she was all too aware that he was supporting the brunt of her weight. She had quite literally gone weak at the knees. Her muscles felt like Jell-O and she felt the acute need to sit.

"Why didn't they call?" she demanded. "Why-"

She stopped when her voice broke and he brushed a tear from her cheek, smirking.

"Figured I'd surprise you," he murmured and Jenny wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes as he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"God, I'm so glad you're okay," she mumbled into his neck.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kelly returned home from school later that day and ran through the front door calling for Jenny.

"Aunt Jenny?" she yelled, running through the front door and dropped her backpack in the hallway.

Despite Kelly's attempts at calling Jenny 'mommy', the red head had seen the look in Joanne's eyes every time she did so: she would tense and for a split second look like someone had stabbed her in the gut. Consequently, Jenny had coaxed the young brunette into preserving her title of 'Aunt.'

Kelly bounded up the stairs in search of the woman and gasped when she smacked into a wall of muscle. She looked up and her eyes grew wide.

"Daddy!" she screamed excitedly and he laughed, bending over to lift her into his arms.

She buried her face in his neck and said, "I missed you daddy."

"I missed you too Kel," he murmured, rubbing her back as he felt her hot tears on his neck.

"You're okay?" she asked in a small, frightened voice.

"I'm okay," he assured her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that night, Jethro laid on the couch with his head in Jenny's lap while she ran her hands through his hair absentmindedly. Both of them laughed as Kelly performed for them.

Joanne had retired to bed several hours earlier with the excuse of wanting to give them time alone. She had been doing her best to avoid seeing Jenny and Jethro together. Despite the fact that they did not see what was happening between them, she did and it killed her to see it.

"Watch, I can do a monkey," Kelly giggled and pulled her ears, puffing out her cheeks.

"That's very attractive," Jenny teased through her laughter.

Kelly grinned and ran to the couch, kneeling in front of her father.

She grabbed his face and asked, "You liked it, right Daddy? You don't have to go away again? You can watch me whenever you want?"

"Yeah, Kel. I liked it," he agreed, intentionally avoiding her other questions as he felt Jenny tense.

"Good," she said decidedly. "I'll do your favorite animal now."

She ran back to the middle of the floor and stopped with a perplexed look on her face.

"Daddy, what's your favorite animal?" she asked, and both adults laughed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Joanne made her way down the stairs sometime in the early hours of the following morning, she narrowed her eyes at the low hum and the flickering, blue light of the television. She stopped a moment when she stepped into the living room, finding Jenny and Jethro asleep on the couch. Jenny's head rested against the back of the chair and her left hand rested lazily on his head, which laid in her lap.

Joanne inhaled deeply through her nose before striding past the couch and into the kitchen.

She stood in there, steeping a teabag in a cup of steaming water when Jethro walked in.

"Joanne," he mumbled groggily.

"You shouldn't be walking around on that leg," she murmured, grabbing the sugar from the table.

He dropped into one of the chairs at said table and waited, knowing she planned to say something.

She tapped her spoon against the rim of her cup softly and set it on her saucer before meeting his eyes.

"What is your relationship with her, Jethro?" she asked.

"I don't know that's really any of your business, Joanne," he replied smartly, but upon remembering all she had done for his family he sighed heavily. "She's a good friend. She moved in next door when Kelly was about five months old. She grew on us. She got me through Shannon, Joanne."

"So you _are _over her then?" Joanne asked, her pain evident in her voice.

"No," he replied truthfully, "I'm not sure that I ever will be."

Joanne nodded and they sat in silence until she looked up at him with glassy eyes.

"Jenny is a good woman, Jethro. She is the only mother that Kelly has ever known despite your best efforts to make her know Shannon. She cares about you. The poor girl nearly made herself sick with worry when we didn't know if you were alive or dead. She shielded Kelly in that crash without a second thought. She won't tell you any of this, so I am. She keeps it all in and puts on happy face for Kelly, you too I suppose." she murmured. "Jethro, it's time you get over my daughter and go after her. She won't wait around forever."

With that, she stood and set her cup in the sink before making her exit, leaving Jethro at the kitchen table with a confounded look on his face.


	12. Chapter 12

**NCIS FTW, MariskaBaby92, JET1967, AzNeRd, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, Allie, alix33, left my heart in Paris, lachildress, teardrops of ink, ladybugsmomma, Ncisluver, Shy Chey 97, Kikilia14, thanks for all your reviews! I'm really glad you're still enjoying the story :)**

Joanne was jarred awake and the sound of Kelly's terrified screams. She jumped out of bed and rushed down the hall into Kelly's room.

The young brunette thrashed in her bed, tears streaming down her face.

"Kelly!" Joanne called sharply, shaking her awake.

Kelly gasped and sat up with terrified eyes. Her forehead was beaded with sweat and her damp hair stuck to her face.

"Daddy," she whimpered.

"He's here," Joanne assured her, wrapping her arms around the girl. "He's home."

"I want my daddy," Kelly sniffed.

As if on cue, Jethro appeared in the doorway despite being in evident pain. He winced as he made his way across the room. Joanne stood as he took her place, hugging his daughter to him.

"It's okay, Kel," he soothed as she sobbed into his chest. "I'm here. It's okay."

Unbeknownst to either Jethro or Kelly, Joanne slipped out of the room.

Not three minutes later, Jenny was pulled out of her sleep by a sharp rapping on the door. She moaned and slid out of bed, stumbling down the hall. She grumbled, flipping on the light in the foyer before yanking the door open.

Joanne attempted to mask a startled look when the door opened, revealing a scantily clad Jenny. She wore only a cotton baby doll over matching boy shorts.

"Joanne?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

"Kelly, she had a nightmare. You could probably do more good than I can," Joanne replied, though she was disinclined to say so.

"Okay," Jenny sighed, nodding sleepily.

She and Joanne walked out the door two minutes later, after Jenny had grabbed her robe.

When they made it to Kelly's room, the little girl seemed to have calmed some as she sat on her bed sniffling, wrapped in her father's arms.

Jethro looked up catching sight of Jenny, causing Kelly to do the same.

"Aunt Jenny," Kelly acknowledged, sniffling.

"Hi, honey," Jenny said in a soothing voice, making her way across the room. "What's going on?"

"I had a bad dream," Kelly whispered, her bottom lip starting to tremble. "Daddy got hurt, and he didn't come back. Then, you weren't there 'cause you got hurt in the car.

"Daddy's fine," Jenny assured her, rubbing her back. "I'm fine too. Neither one of us is going anywhere. Okay?"

Kelly nodded, snuggling deeper into her father's embrace, though she looked far from convinced.

Once Kelly had gotten back to sleep, Jethro pulled her blanket back over her and tried to stand to his feet, but grimaced as pain shot up his leg.

Jenny was at his side in an instant, tossing his arm around her shoulder so she could help him up.

She helped him to his room and into bed and asked, "What hurts?"

"I'm fine, Jen," he lied and she rolled her eyes.

"Where's your pain medication?" she sighed.

"There," he said, pointing to his bedside table.

She grabbed them and sent him a worried glance before heading toward the door, calling over her shoulder, "I'll be back."

She returned minutes later, a glass of water in hand. She sat on the edge of the bed and held it out to him along with the pill.

He swallowed the pill without protest and set the glass with the remaining water on the table before turning back to Jenny.

He tugged her closer to him and asked, "What happened in the car accident, Jenny?"

Jenny had been avoiding his questions since he had returned home.

"Kelly was fine," she assured him. "She had a few scratches, but other than that she was fine."

"And you?" he asked, knowing that was her way of avoiding telling him something.

"I'm fine, Jethro." she sighed, but he was having none of it.

"Jenny!" he snapped.

"Couple of broken ribs and a decent concussion," she replied reluctantly. "I was out for two days. I had plenty of bruises. Doctors say I was pretty beat up, but I'm fine. They also said I was lucky. It could have been a lot worse, Jethro."

"Why didn't they tell me?" he demanded angrily and she slid up the bed so that she sat next to him. "They told me you were both fine."

"You got blown up and had just come out of a coma. I would assume they didn't want to upset you and send you back," she replied smartly, attempting to lighten the mood. "Besides, by the time you woke up, we were."

"They should have told me," he insisted, her attempts having no affect on him.

"I'm okay, Jethro. We both are," she promised.

"I can't lose her, Jenny, or you," he said, and the emotion in his voice almost broke her heart.

"You won't, Jethro," she insisted earnestly, cupping his cheek. "You won't."

He cleared his throat and pulled gently away from her touch, making it very clear that he was not at all convinced.

"We aren't the ones in the Marines, Jethro," she whispered and she was met with a reproachful look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"Nothing," she sighed, reasoning that now was not the time.

She quickly thought better and met his eyes earnestly.

"It means, Jethro, we don't want to lose you either."

He gave her a curt nod, effectively ending the conversation and she scoffed softly, shifting her gaze to her lap. She had never seen anyone so adept or intent on avoiding emotions.

She pursed her lips at him in agitation, but a flicker of amusement danced in her eyes.

"Fine," she acquiesced for the time being. "Now lay down. Stop trying to be Mr. Man, and tell me what hurts."

"What are you going to do?" he asked, eyeing her apprehensively, a hint of alarm coloring his voice.

"Hit you over the head with a hammer, tie you up, and turn you into my personal little sex monkey," she quipped and smirked. "But you'd like that wouldn't you?"

"That a promise?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

"Just do it," she laughed.

He smiled and complied with her demands and she crawled over him, straddling his hips.

"So it was a promise," he mused jokingly and she rolled her eyes.

"You're incorrigible," she muttered.

"Big word," he teased. "I'm guessing it means annoying."

"There's a big book on the bookshelf in the living room called a Dictionary. _Use it_," she whispered, sure to let her lips brush against his ear as she did so and sat back with a self-satisfied smirk when she felt his body tense beneath her.

He soon relaxed under the slow, attentive movements of her small hands over his neck and shoulders.

What scared him when he thought of it by chance days later was that his memories of Shannon doing the same thing had not once crossed his mind.

**A little shorter than usual, I know, but I hope you liked it regardless :)**

**Happy Mommy's Day to all of you brave enough to be one :)**


	13. Chapter 13

_**NCIS FTW, JET1967, MariskaBaby92, ladybugsmomma, AzNeRd, Shy Chey 97, Ncisluver, Kikilia14, left my heart in Paris, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, alix33, and BeTheDream, thank you for reviewing guys! It makes me smile :)**_

_**Enjoy!**_

Two weeks after Jethro's eventful return home, Jenny and Jethro stood on the lawn while Joanne spoke to Kelly, her taxi waiting at the curb.

"You'll come back soon, right?" Kelly asked. "You won't stay gone so long this time?"

"Hopefully," Joanne replied, smiling sadly as she met Jethro's gaze.

They both knew she had no intention of returning. The house, the city, the neighborhood all held too many memories.

"Or maybe you can come see me some time, huh?" she proposed, tugging one of Kelly's pigtails affectionately.

"Yeah," Kelly agreed, grinning.

"Yeah," Joanne whispered, moving to her feet.

She was caught off guard when Kelly threw her arms around her neck, hugging her tightly. Joanne hugged her back, smiling.

"I'll see you soon, promise?" Kelly demanded inquisitively.

"Promise," Joanne laughed and was rewarded with a gap-toothed grin.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The following day, while Kelly was at school, Jenny walked through the house gathering the laundry into a basket. One of the perks to owning her own business was not having to go in everyday.

She jogged down the steps, heading down the hall to the laundry room. She slowed when she heard the muffled rumble of Jethro's voice and strained her ears to hear what he was saying. He had been more secretive than usual in the past few days and she was intent on getting to the bottom of it.

She found him in his room fifteen minutes later and lingered in the doorway.

"Who was on the phone?" she asked, intending for it to come off nonchalant, but the tension in her voice still came through.

"My C.O.," he replied and she crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

"Why?" she demanded.

"I'm healing well, better than was expected," he said, and she knew very well where he was heading.

"What, so you're going back?" she demanded, hysteria edging into her voice.

"It's my job, Jenny," he reminded her.

"Well, find a new one," she shot back childishly.

"It's not that easy, Jen."

"Not that easy?" she scoffed. "What about Kelly? She almost lost the only parent she has left, and you're going to possibly put her in that position _again_?"

"It's always been a possibility, Jenny," he insisted.

"It wasn't just a possibility six weeks ago, Jethro. It happened and you managed to survive it. Going back is just tempting God," she growled heatedly. "You are going to leave her without anyone in this world."

"She'd have you," he reasoned.

"Dammit, Jethro! That isn't the same and you _know it_!" she hissed.

"It's not that _easy_, Jenny!" he insisted once more.

"It should be perfectly easy to choose between your daughter and your job," she jeered, turning on her heel only to have him grab her back by her arm.

"Let go of me, Jethro," she warned vehemently.

"Don't ever suggest that I don't care about her," he growled, his eyes flashing. "She is the most important thing in this world to me."

"Then prove it," she spat, yanking her arm out of his grasp and moved for the door once again only to have him slam it closed in her face.

"The Marines are the only thing I've ever known since I was seventeen years old. It's how I take care of her and make sure she has what she needs. Just _what _do you expect me to do instead?" he demanded hotly.

"I don't know. I'm sure you'll figure something out, but you can start by letting out of this room," she all but snarled.

"I can't just quit, Jen!" he barked. "It doesn't work like that. They need me over there."

"We need you _here_!" she screamed, and pitched the nearest object across the room.

She gasped at her outburst when the vase shattered against the wall and fell to the hardwood floor.

She berated herself mentally when she felt hot tears burning in her eyes, angry with herself for being so emotional.

"Jenny, don't cry," he begged. He could deal with screaming and throwing things and hitting, but it killed him to see her cry.

"I'm not crying," she snapped, swiping angrily at the evidence to the contrary.

She crossed the room, in an attempt to put some distance between them only to have him follow behind her.

She turned back to him with a determined set to her jaw.

"Don't go," she demanded, shaking her head. "Tell them you can't."

She closed her eyes when he gently brushed her tears away with his thumb.

"Jen..." he groaned and she nodded, knowing full well what he was not saying.

"Yeah," she scoffed, nodding in disbelief and turned back toward the door only to have him pull her back once more.

"Jethro, let me go," she demanded, pushing weakly against his chest.

"When I get back from this one," he mumbled into her hair and she nodded, relaxing into his arms.

She soon tensed, feeling his hands trailing along her bare back absentmindedly.

It was enough to bring him out of his reverie and he moved to pull back only to have her tug him back to her gently and press her lips against his. He needed no further encouragement and kissed her back with enough fervor to pull a moan from her throat.

He broke the kiss only long enough to pull her shirt over her head as they stumbled backwards across the room. Her breath hitched when the back of her knees hit the bed and she fell backwards, taking him with her.

She gasped as goose bumps erupted all over her body at the feeling of his hands on her hips as he crawled over her, his knees on either side of her thighs.

"Jenny," he mumbled into her neck, the clichéd, unspoken question hanging in the air.

She hummed low in her throat as he grazed his teeth along her neck.

"Just do it, Jethro," she gasped, hooking her fingers into the belt loops of his jeans, pulling him closer to her.

He quickly stripped her of her pants, leaving her in only a matching set of sheer black undergarments.

"This is a bad idea," she mumbled against his lips, though her actions contradicted her statement. _Actions do speak louder than words._

He murmured in absent agreement even as he reached behind her, unhooking her bra.

"God," she moaned, arching her hips into his and tangled her hands in his hair as he trailed hot kisses down her neck and chest.

She felt her vision going hazy, her thought process blurring as he slid her panties down her legs before dropping his pants as well. She hadn't been with anyone in nearly a year and with every touch he set her nerves on fire.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hours later, Jenny opened her eyes slowly, feeling Jethro's arms wrapped possessively around her middle. She furrowed her eyebrows as a blurry figure came into view. She gasped, her eyes opening wide upon recognizing the bright blue eyes staring back at her—identical to those of the man in bed with her.

Her hands flew to her chest instinctually and she sighed internally in relief finding that the comforter covered her.

"Kelly?" she whispered and cast a quick glance back at Jethro, finding him to still be sleeping.

"Aunt Jenny, how come you're in daddy's bed? Why are you sleeping? Are you guys sick?" she asked tentatively.

"No, we're fine," Jenny assured her, trying to come up with a way to get out of the situation she was in.

It was then that she remembered the broken vase in the room.

"Kelly there's broken glass in here," she said urgently, "Go in the living room and start your homework so I can clean it up. I don't want you to get any pieces in your feet. Then you can tell me all about school, okay?"

"Kay," Kelly agreed, running out of the room.

Jenny sighed in relief, tossing her head back in the pillows when the door shut behind her.

She slid out of bed and stepped carefully so as to avoid the glass she had warned Kelly about. She pushed the bathroom door open and started the shower. She stepped in, hissing as the hot water beat against her skin. She sighed and rested her forehead against the cool tiles, losing herself in her thoughts.

She had just slept with her best friend without thinking twice of the potential repercussions.

_**A/n: Explaining all of this to Kelly should fun...**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey, I hope everyone is having a nice Memorial Day Weekend!**

**Liz, ****JET1967****, ****Shy Chey 97****,****alix33****, ****teardrops of ink****, ****TeamCarlisleandEsme8****, ****NCIS FTW****, ****Eve27****, ****MariskaBaby92****, ****nciscsinyluver****, ****ladybugsmomma****, ****Paris-eternellement****, ****AzNeRd****, ****Kikilia14****, ncisluver, ****left my heart in Paris****, and ****anon**** (I think this is an un-logged in person and so I don****'t know who you are which I feel bad about because you offered something very nice, so PM please**** because I can****'t PM you lol****), thank you ten times over for all the reviews! I****'m really glad you liked the last chapter guys.**

**I hope you enjoy this one too! :)**

"Jethro!" Jenny hissed, shoving him not so gently.

Her only response was an agitated growl and him pulling his pillow over his face.

"Honestly, Jethro," she sighed, crawling onto the bed, straddling him.

She slid the pillow away from his face and rolled her eyes at his lazy smirk, knowing full well that he expected something far different than what he would be getting

"Get up!" she demanded, smacking him in the head with said pillow.

He glared at her, though his groggy state made him look more endearing than menacing. She shrieked in surprise and laughed when he grabbed her by her hips and flipped so that he was on top of her.

"What?" he asked and she smiled, looking up at him through her long lashes.

"Kelly is home," she said, and then assumed a teasing grin before speaking again. "It would probably be best if she didn't walk in on her very naked father pinning her mother figure to the bed."

"Right of passage," he murmured, trailing soft kisses down her neck. "Every kid's done it."

"I haven't," she rebutted primly. "Now, get off of me. I have to go help your daughter with her subtraction."

He groaned, though he did as he was told and allowed her to slip out of bed.

"And get dressed," she added, before shutting the door behind her.

When Jethro walked into the kitchen thirty minutes later, Kelly looked up from her paper, munching on a stick of celery.

"Hi, Daddy," she greeted him, grinning.

"Hey, Kel," he acknowledged, returning the smile.

He reached over Jenny's shoulder and swiped her glass of orange juice much to her chagrin, earning him a glare he had come to associate only with the name Shepard.

"Do you feel better?" Kelly asked before knitting her eyebrows at a presumably difficult problem.

"What do you mean?" Jethro asked in confusion, taking another sip of Jenny's juice.

"You were sick, right. Aunt Jenny lets me sleep with her when I'm sick. You were sleeping with her."

At Kelly's last sentence Jethro choked and coughed in an attempt to clear his throat.

"No, we weren't sick," he managed hoarsely and Kelly looked up at him in perplexity.

"Well, did Aunt Jenny have a nightmare? You let me sleep in your bed if I have a bad nightmare."

It was then that Jenny interceded. "Yes," she said, eyeing Jethro pointedly. "Your daddy is very nice."

Kelly smiled, returning to her work.

"Yeah," she agreed. "He always makes me feel better."

"Me too," Jenny said, glad to have the situation handled for the time being. That is until Jethro opened his mouth.

"You were very vocal about that," he teased, knowing that Kelly would not understand the joke.

Jenny whipped around to see him grinning impishly into the glass and narrowed her eyes at him. She did not admonish him for fear of drawing Kelly's attention to his dirty joke.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that night, after Kelly had gone to bed Jenny and Jethro sat up watching television though Jenny had nearly nodded off, and so Jethro was startled when she spoke.

"Jethro," she sighed.

"Hmm?" he murmured in acknowledgement.

"Don't tell Kelly about…this," she said, unsure what to call what they had now. She moved so that she could look up at him and found that she had garnered his full attention.

Seeing that he was simply going to stare at her expectantly, she elaborated.

"We don't know what _this _is. If it turns into something and then it doesn't work out, we may be able to get past that and come back from it, but I don't know that she will," she said earnestly.

It was the concern for his daughter that prompted him to smile and reply with a simple, "Fine."

"Fine?" she asked in skeptically. "You won't get mad at me later and snap at me for everything"

"That's your thing, Jen," he said, and she pulled a face at him.

"Ha-ha," she said sardonically, but smiled and laid her head back on his shoulder.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That weekend, Jenny walked through the supermarket with Kelly bouncing gleefully at her side, while Jethro trudged behind them in disgruntlement.

"What else do we need?" Jenny asked, smiling at Kelly's enthusiasm.

Kelly looked to the paper in her small hands and said, "We still need the red food coloring and the vinegar and cocoa powder."

"Okay," Jenny said, heading in the direction of said items.

Kelly then gasped and said, "Oh, and confec-confet-"

"Confectioner's sugar?" Jenny supplied, and Kelly nodded.

"And strawberries," she added.

When they returned home, Jenny opened the door and Kelly ran in, sprinting for the kitchen. Jenny swiftly followed with Jethro carrying the groceries behind her.

"Why did I have to go again?" he asked.

"To carry the bags," Jenny replied sweetly, patting his cheek and he rolled his eyes.

He set the bags on the counter and said, "Have fun," before turning to leave.

"Daddy, you have to help," Kelly called.

He turned, intending to kindly deny her request, but upon seeing her hopeful expression he sighed.

"Fine," he acquiesced and Kelly smiled.

Five minutes later, Kelly giggled as Jenny pulled her hair up for her and slipped an apron over her head.

Jethro had already figured a way of getting out of baking by promising Kelly he would videotape her very first baking experience; and so he stood off to the side holding a camcorder.

"Go get me a big bowl and a medium one," Jenny requested, and Kelly did as she was told, grabbing said items and running back to Jenny.

Jenny lifted Kelly up on the counter and opened the flour before handing her the measuring cup.

"Do the dry stuff first. Dump it in the medium bowl. Fill the measuring cup twice and scrape off the extra with your finger. Then fill it halfway, okay?"

Meanwhile, Jenny added oil, eggs, vinegar, vanilla, and food coloring in the other bowl.

She stopped, pursing her lips upon realizing they had forgotten an ingredient.

"We forgot the buttermilk," she murmured.

"Does that mean we can't do it?" Kelly asked in disappointment.

"No, honey," Jenny assured her. "Go get the regular milk and the lemon juice from the fridge."

Kelly did as she was asked and brought them back, eyeing Jenny curiously as the red-head mixed the milk and a small amount of lemon juice.

Jenny looked up at her and smiled.

"Instant buttermilk, it works in a pinch. My mom taught it to me," she said.

"How come I never met your mommy?" Kelly asked, mixing the ingredients with her fingers and Jenny's expression instantly darkened.

Jethro noticed, but chose not to push the issue.

Jenny quickly schooled her features and smiled tightly though the sadness remained in her eyes.

"Add the cocoa powder in, Kel," she said, but looked up feeling Jethro's eyes on her.

She shook her head almost imperceptibly at his inquisitive gaze and returned her attention to Kelly.

Twenty minutes later, Jenny slid the batter filled cupcake pan into the oven and turned only just in time to see what was about to happen.

"Kel-!" she called, but she was too late and Kelly knocked the bag of flour to the floor, sending a cloud of white powder into both her face and Jenny's.

Jenny shut her eyes and sighed while Kelly looked up at her sheepishly.

"I'm sorry," Kelly apologized. "I was trying to help."

"I know," Jenny assured her. It's alright, but from now on, just wait for me, okay?"

Kelly nodded and Jenny looked over at the sound of deep, baritone laughter.

"You think this is funny?" Jenny demanded, addressing Jethro.

She smiled, though the look in her eyes was that of a woman out for blood. She swiped an egg off the counter and crossed the room. In his inability to stop laughing, Jethro was oblivious to her ploy and was not expecting the cracking sound and the feeling of a wet and gooey substance on his head.

"_That's_ funny," she said, smiling triumphantly at the bewildered look on his face as she brushed the traces of egg shell from her hands.

He closed the camera and she shrieked when he grabbed her off her feet and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Jethro!" she giggled as he crossed the room, but gasped when he smashed an egg onto her butt. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs!" she snapped and looked up at Kelly's laughter.

Jenny wriggled out of his arms and tossed a sprinkling of powder at the girl, garnering a fit of childish giggles and then turned, pitching another perfectly aimed egg at Jethro's chest. He retaliated by smearing cream cheese down her face and she felt an egg collide with her back.

She turned to see Kelly wearing an impish grin identical to her father's. Kelly's eyes widened upon seeing Jenny grab two eggs and the little girl took off, giggling madly.

"Daddy, help me!" she laughed, running for him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**~ 2 Months Later ~**

Jenny sighed, dreading what she was about to do. She pushed Kelly's bedroom door open, finding the girl playing with the doll house her father had made for her years ago.

"Kelly, come here a minute. Your father and I need to talk to you," she said, and the little girl, moved to her feet, looking at Jenny inquisitively.

As they entered the living room, Kelly immediately noticed the signs as to what the conversation would entail. It was one she had heard all too many times before.

"You don't have to go away again, right?" she asked, her bottom lip starting to tremble.

Jethro sighed and pulled her into his arms.

"It's only for a little while this time, and then no more. I'll stay home forever," he tried to assure her.

"No," she whimpered, tears springing to her eyes. "You said you didn't have to go away again. You're s'posed to stay here."

"We never said that Kelly," he reminded her.

"But you got hurt last time. What if you don't come back this time?" she demanded.

Jethro looked to Jenny, who refused to meet his eyes and then back to Kelly.

"I will come back," he said adamantly.

"Lilly's daddy said that, then he didn't come back!" she screamed, running from the room, and Jenny moved to her feet.

"This is what I was talking about," she growled, her expression a mix of anguish and anger.

"What am I supposed to do?" he demanded.

"You could have turned this down Jethro, but you chose not to. You don't fully understand what you leaving does to her or me for that matter. _You_ aren't here to see her wake up in the middle of the night crying, or see her face when she has a recital, or a game, or she wins the spelling bee and her father isn't there to see it," Jenny stressed. "She's terrified. What you _do_, is you never leave her like this again."

She turned on her heel and headed for the stairs, leaving Jethro to wallow in his thoughts.

Despite the heartbreaking events, two weeks later, Jenny and Kelly stood in the driveway as Jethro loaded up his truck.

Kelly stood at Jenny's side with tear stained cheeks, sniffling into Jenny's skirt. Finally, she tore her hand out of Jenny's and ran to her father.

"Daddy, please don't go," she cried. "You have to stay."

"I can't, Kel, you know that," he said, no matter how much it pained him to say so.

"Please," she pleaded.

"I won't be gone long. I'll come back soon, and I'll call you as soon as I can," he assured her, handing her over to Jenny who had come up beside them.

Jenny and Kelly watched him get into the truck and waited until he disappeared around the corner before Jenny turned back toward the house, a still sniffling Kelly in her arms.

**A/n: Aww :(**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you so much to Ziver69, Brii Taylor, MariskaBaby92, DS2010, ladybugsmomma, LilyEvans98, Ncisluver, alix33, Shy Chey 97, AzNeRd, power214063, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, NCIS FTW, left my heart in Paris, and Kikilia14 for reviewing :)**

**And thank you as well to all of the people who have favorited this story put it on story alert.**

**Enjoy!**

**~ 3 Months Later ~**

"When is he going to be here?" Kelly asked for the umpteenth time.

Jenny simply smiled and without looking up from her magazine patiently answered, "He'll be here."

"But when?" Kelly demanded, bouncing in her chair.

"Soon," Jenny assured her.

Five minutes later, Jenny moved to her feet along with Kelly when they saw the line of fatigue-clad men marching down the stairs.

Kelly's eyes searched the sea of soldiers walking toward them, scanning the crowd frantically for her father.

It was Jenny who saw him first, and lifted Kelly into her arms so that she could see him.

"Look," Jenny said, pointing in his direction and Kelly followed her line of direction to see her father smiling at them.

"Daddy!" she screamed, wriggling out of Jenny's arms and running into her father's.

He laughed, spinning her in his arms.

Jenny stood back and watched the two of them, smiling until Jethro looked up and met her gaze.

He let Kelly down and lifted Jenny off her feet, into his arms, eliciting a shriek of laughter from the red head. She tossed her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his, temporarily forgetting the agreement they had made not to make Kelly privy to their relationship.

She pecked his lips twice more before he set her back on her feet.

"No more, right?" she murmured. "We don't have to do this anymore?"

"You get to deal with me all day," he laughed and she smiled.

The two of them looked down to see Kelly watching them and Jethro growled playfully, swinging the child onto his shoulders.

Kelly giggled, holding onto his head while he held tight to her legs.

Later that night, once Kelly had gone to bed, Jenny and Jethro retreated to his room, shutting the door behind them. The only sound that could be heard was the click of the lock on the door turning to keep little feet out of the room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny woke to the shrill sound of her phone ringing on the bedside table. She squinted at the first rays of morning light and reached out, feeling around for the phone.

"Hello?" she mumbled groggily.

Her sister's frantic slur of words caught her off guard and the only words she caught were 'Dad' and hospital.'

She slid out of bed and grabbed Jethro's t-shirt off the floor, sliding it over her head before slipping into the bathroom.

"Heather, Heather, slow down," she commanded, shutting the door behind her.

"_Daddy's in the hospital. It's bad,"_ Heather said in a tear-strained voice.

Jenny knew he had to be near dying or dead for that matter for Heather to be in such a state. What she wanted to know is why they had called her sister rather than her, and she asked just that.

"Heather, why did they call you and not me?" Jenny demanded. "You're in California; and you and Dad haven't spoken in years."

"_Well, that doesn't mean I want him to _die_, Jenny," _Heather snapped, affronted._ "And they called me because Daddy asked them not to bother you. I was on my way here to surprise you. I'm at the hospital with him now."_

"Is he dying?" Jenny asked and the response she got sent chills down her spine.

"_I think you should come down here._"

Jethro woke not two minutes later to Jenny running around the room like a chicken with her head cut off.

"What's wrong?" he mumbled groggily and her head shot up as she pushed her hair out of her face.

"My father is in the hospital," she said, pulling her hair into a ponytail.

"Jen," he tried, but she cut him off.

"I have to go," she said with no more than a quick glance before running out the door, leaving him in a state of confusion.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny arrived at the Walter Reed Medical Center in her jeans and one of Jethro's sweatshirts with her red hair piled haphazardly on top of her head.

"I need to see Jasper Shepard, please?" she asked of the receptionist at the front desk. "I'm his daughter and next of kin, Jennifer Shepard."

"Do you have some ID on you?" the young brunette asked, and Jenny fished her license out of her bag and handed it to the woman.

The receptionist scanned the card before handing it back to Jenny and pushed the button to open the doors.

"Room 205," she said.

When Jenny entered the room, she met her sister's gaze and smiled comfortingly before looking to her sleeping father.

"What happened?" she asked Heather who was so much her twin it scared even her sometimes.

They were both their mother's carbon copy despite Jenny having their father's eyes. They were only eighteen months apart and had always been close growing up even with Heather following their mother around the house and Jenny spending hours sitting on their father's lap in his study.

"They say it may be Huntington's. It's a nerve disease. If it is, they say he shouldn't have been living alone, or at least someone should have been checking on him regularly. He fell down the stairs, but if his muscles were working right, he should have been able to catch himself. He wouldn't have fallen anyway though," Heather sighed, grabbing his hand.

"How did this happen?" Jenny murmured, pulling a chair up beside her father's bed.

"How _did _it happen, Jenny?" Heather demanded, and Jenny looked up, sending her sister a reproachful look.

"Are you saying this is my fault, Heather?" she demanded.

"You live around him," Heather accused.

"And you haven't been around him for years, so how would you know how he is? Why _are _you here, Heather?" Jenny shot back.

"Our father is in the hospital, Jenny," Heather scoffed.

"And since when have you cared?" Jenny demanded viciously.

"I care about him, Jenny," Heather said adamantly. "Just because we haven't been…close—"

"That's the understatement of the century," Jenny cut her off, and Heather glared.

"Just because we aren't _close_ does not mean I don't care," she stressed.

"Why did he tell them to call you?" Jenny asked.

Heather was silent a moment before replying, "I don't know."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny jumped awake and looked around wildly several hours later. She gasped upon seeing her father's eyes staring at her.

"Dad," she whispered, looking to see that her sister was still asleep.

He simply smiled.

"Dad," she sighed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't want to bother you," he sighed. "You have enough going on."

"Dad, this is serious," Jenny stressed. "There's no cure for this. How long do you have? Tell me."

He hesitated before answering, "Months,"

Jenny gasped, and bit her lip as tears sprung to her eyes.

"Months?" she whispered. "Daddy, why didn't you tell me? How long have you known?"

"Since you were in the accident. That's why I was in Germany. I was seeing a specialist," he said.

"Dad, that was months ago," Jenny hissed.

"You were doing enough," he insisted.

"Dad, you should have told me. If I had known—"

He cut her off.

"What would you have done?" he demanded. "I'm dying, Jenny. There's nothing either of us can do about it. I didn't see any need to add more stress to your life."

"I'm losing my father, and I never even knew I was. How am I not supposed to be stressed out," she demanded, bordering on hysterics.

"You'll be fine," he assured her. "You have Jethro and Kelly. You'll be fine."

"Why did you call Heather?" Jenny demanded. "And no, I won't be fine. You're my father."

"You _will _be fine, and I called your sister because you've been talking about Jethro getting home since he left. There was no need to pull you away."

"Dad, Jethro could have waited. He is staying home. He isn't leaving again. You should have called me," she insisted, her eyes glistening with tears. "Now, you're in the hospital because you didn't. I would have let you move in with me, or stopped by every day at the very least. You know that."

"I do know that," he said. "That's why I didn't tell you. Like I said, you had enough going on."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That night, Jethro looked up at the sound of keys jingling in the doorway. He furrowed his brows in concern when Jenny came into view with her red-rimmed eyes and flushed cheeks. She fell onto the couch beside him and laid her head in his lap.

"What happened?" he asked.

"My father is dying," she said bluntly, crossing her arms over her forehead. "My father is dying, and he didn't tell me because he thought I had too much _stress_."

"What do mean he's _dying_?" he demanded.

"He has Huntington's Disease. They say there's no cure. He says he has months to live. _Months_," she whispered, still in disbelief. "He's getting out of the hospital in two days. I'm going to get him and then I have to stop by to check on him every day from now on. He won't move in with me, because _again_ apparently it's too much for me to handle."

"I'm sorry, Jenny," he said, sitting her up and hugging her to him.

"Me too," she choked, biting her lip.


	16. Chapter 16

**alix33, Ziver69, MariskaBaby92, NCIS FTW, Kikilia14, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, ladybugsmomma, Shy Chey 97, left my heart in Paris, AzNeRd, teardrops of ink, and Ncisluver, thank you for reviewing and I hope you like the new chapter too :)**

**~2 Weeks Later ~**

"It's me!" Jenny called as she pushed the front door to Jethro's house open, stepping inside.

She heard the pitter-patter of small feet on the floor before she saw a brunette blur coming at her. She groaned when Kelly collided with her, but smiled and lifted the child into her arms.

"Where's your daddy?" Jenny asked.

"Kitchen," Kelly promptly replied, and Jenny headed in that direction with Kelly on her hip.

Jenny smiled upon seeing the now ex-Marine flipping pancakes.

"Daddy's making chocolate chip pancakes," Kelly said happily, sliding out of Jenny's arms and climbing up onto the stool at the breakfast bar.

"I know, it's Saturday," Jenny said, smiling at the child's eager anticipation.

Whenever he was home on leave, Jethro had always made Kelly chocolate chip pancakes on Saturdays. Jenny had begun to suspect it was the only thing he really knew how to cook.

Jethro looked up from the pan for a moment to greet her.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," she replied, grabbing a glass from the cabinet, pouring herself a glass of apple juice.

"May I have some too, please?" Kelly asked.

"Stop rocking back in forth in that chair like that. You're going to fall," Jenny scolded.

Kelly stopped and Jenny simply handed the child the glass she had planned to drink from, garnering a bashful smile from the little brunette.

"Thank you," she said, and Jenny nodded, before reaching for another glass for herself.

Several minutes later, Jenny and Jethro stood side by side while Kelly munched happily on her pancakes.

"She's excited for her sleepover?" Jenny asked, and Jethro nodded.

"Only thing she's been talking about since Maddie's mother asked her over," he murmured, and Jenny laughed softly.

"It's her first sleepover. It's a big thing for a little girl. My mother was more frantic than I was for my first," Jenny mused, and Jethro looked to her abruptly.

It was only the second time Jenny had spoken of her mother in the six years they had known each other. Jenny quickly realized her slip because her face darkened as it had several months earlier with Kelly.

"Jen," he pushed, but she ignored him, choosing instead to address Kelly.

"Have you thought about what you want for your birthday yet, Kelly?" Jenny asked, and Kelly grinned.

Jenny nodded, taking a sip of her juice, prompting her to go on.

"I want a baby brother," Kelly said decidedly and Jenny's juice flew from her mouth in a spray of spit while Jethro choked on a piece of his pancake.

Kelly looked at both adults in alarm, wondering what she had said.

"You want a what?" Jenny managed weakly, being the first to recover.

"A baby brother," Kelly said again.

"And just how do you expect to get a baby brother?" Jenny asked.

"From you and daddy," Kelly said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Jessica just got a baby brother, and he's so cute. She said her mommy and daddy stayed in their room a lot, and then her mommy got big, then she got a baby brother.

Jenny failed to stifle a laugh at Kelly's account of how babies were made.

"Well, honey it isn't that easy, and your daddy and I aren't together that way. We aren't married," Jenny explained.

"Well, then you should get married, "Kelly said, and Jenny opened her mouth in disbelief before promptly shutting it again.

"You have to love somebody before you get married," Jenny said, thinking that she had ended the conversation.

"But you do love Daddy, right?" Kelly asked, dashing Jenny's hopes.

"Well, yes, but not…" Jenny trailed off and Kelly quickly interjected.

"Then you should get married, so I can have a baby brother," Kelly said.

"This kid should be a lawyer," Jenny muttered, and Jethro laughed softly. "Well, if you can't have a baby brother, then what would you like instead?" she then asked.

"The doll that looks like me, I guess," Kelly said, scrunching her nose at the thought of having to settle for anything less than her own little brother.

"The American Girl one?" Jenny asked, and Kelly nodded.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "I really want a baby brother though."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Jenny pulled into Jethro's driveway later that afternoon, after dropping Kelly at Maddie's house, she shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up at Jethro.

"Jethro, _what _are you doing?" she called, wondering why in God's name he was on the roof.

He turned to look at her over his shoulder, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Leak in the upstairs bathroom, roof needs fixing," he called back.

"Well, can't you call someone to do it instead of risking breaking your neck up there?" she demanded.

"Why, when I can do it? And I won't break my neck," he assured her.

"Fine," she sighed, waving her hand in dismissal of his statement. "Be careful!" she yelled before heading into the house.

She sat in the living room reading a book when Jethro walked in hours later, drenched in sweat from the hot sun.

"You smell," Jenny said, smirking as she flipped the page in her book.

"Roof's fixed though," he called as he headed up the stairs, presumably to shower.

When he entered the room thirty minutes later in a pair of jeans and a wife-beater, he smelled of soap as he rubbed a towel over his damp hair.

"Better," Jenny praised as he sat beside her.

She set her book aside, and grinned mischievously before speaking.

"What do you plan to tell your daughter about her little birthday wish?" she asked, and he snorted.

"That she can have a doll," he muttered and Jenny laughed.

"She'll be very disappointed, Jethro," she teased.

"I'll tell her the stork got lost, and told me to give her a doll instead," he quipped.

"She's a very persistent child," she reasoned, amusement sparkling in her eyes.

"You trying to get yourself knocked up, Jen?" he asked, a teasing smile playing at his lips.

"_That _is what the little pink pills in my purse are for," she quipped and moved to her feet, a grin tugging at her lips.

"Well then, I hope you took them," he said and moved to his feet as well, and grabbed her off hers, tossing her over his shoulder.

"Jethro!" she laughed, protesting only half-heartedly as he carried her up the stairs and into his bedroom.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that night, Jenny and Jethro laid in bed. She sighed softly in her sleep, nestling further into his chest and he readjusted his arm accordingly.

The house was so silent you could hear a pen drop. The only sound for hours: the sound of the central air starting yanked Jethro out of his slumber. He looked around the room wildly with bloodshot eyes attempting to discern what had woken him.

Unable to, he slid out of bed and Jenny squinted her eyes at him.

"Jethro, what are you doing?" she asked groggily.

"I heard something," he replied, seemingly on edge, and she looked to the clock finding that it read two-thirty.

"I don't hear anything," she mumbled. "It's two-thirty in the morning, Jethro. Come back to bed."

"I'll be back," he said, ignoring her request and she sighed, hugging his pillow to her in place of him.

He pulled his jeans on and checked the windows in the bedroom to ensure they were locked before covering the entire house, checking doors and windows, looking outside as he went. Finally, when he did not find anything in the house and was satisfied all of the doors and windows were locked, he walked outside and covered the entire perimeter of his house before he was convinced he had been imagining things.

Jenny muttered something incoherent when he slipped back into bed and barely stirred, simply rolling over when the bed dipped with the weight of him.

He pulled her to him, though he could not get the burning notion out of his head that someone had been in his house.


	17. Chapter 17

Kikilia14, left my heart in Paris, Allz1298, Ncisluver, AzNeRd, ladybugsmomma, dinoZZodaVid008, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, Shy Chey 97, NCIS FTW, alix33, and Brii Taylor, thank you all for your reviews :)

Jenny yanked her shirt over her head and pulled her hair into a messy bun before hurriedly buttoning her pants. Her gaze darted around the room until she laid eyes on her boots and snatched them up, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"It's not like Kelly's never woken up with you here before," he murmured groggily from behind her, referring to the reason for her great hurry.

"Maybe, but not when I was _naked_," she stressed, yanking on the zipper of her left shoe.

She kissed him briefly before slipping out the door. She tipped down the stairs quietly and her hand was on the doorknob when a small voice at the top of the stairs stopped her in her tracks.

"Aunt Jenny?" Kelly called, her voice colored with a hint of surprise.

Jenny spun to face the small brunette, hoping she could convince her that she had been coming in rather than out if need be.

"Hi, honey," she greeted the child with a smile. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I'm hungry," Kelly mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her right eye as she descended the stairs.

Jenny lifted Kelly onto her hip as the girl reached the ground floor.

"What are you hungry for?" Jenny asked as she made her way into the kitchen.

"French toast," Kelly decided, yawning around her words. "And bacon and eggs," she added.

Thirty minutes later, Jethro stepped into the kitchen to see Jenny plating Kelly's breakfast: golden, strawberry stuffed French toast, scrambled eggs, and several slices of crisp bacon. She met his questioning gaze with a smile.

"Good morning, Jethro," she greeted him, her eyes relaying a silent message. _Say nothing._

"Morning," he replied, his response a statement-question hybrid.

She handed him a cup of coffee knowing he had little more than that in the mornings, before taking a seat next to Kelly at the breakfast bar with her own plate of food leaving Jethro with a bemused expression on his face.

After they had eaten Jenny wiped the counter down while Kelly helped her father dry the dishes.

"Aunt Jenny?" Kelly called, stopping her work on the dripping plate she held in her hand.

"Yes, honey?" Jenny replied, not looking up from her task.

"How come Uncle Jasper doesn't come to see me anymore?"

Jenny paused before answering illusively, "He isn't feeling very well."

She had understandably been having problems speaking of her father as of late.

"Can I go see him, then?" Kelly asked, not privy to the pain she was causing Jenny. "It might make him feel better."

"I'm sure it would, sweetheart," Jenny said, smiling sadly. "I'll see how he feels today, and then maybe you can come with me tomorrow."

"Kay," Kelly said happily, returning to her task.

Finished with her cleaning, Jenny left the kitchen, drawing Jethro's attention with the displaced look on her face.

He had by then learned when to leave her be and this was one of those times.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that afternoon, Jenny slid her key into the lock of her father's front door and stepped quietly into the foyer.

Her father's housekeeper stepped into the doorway and Jenny's face lit up upon seeing her. She had not seen the woman in months and in years before that. The full-figured Spanish woman had been more of a mother to Jenny than her biological one. Her hair had grayed in the years since Jenny's childhood and lines now framed her eyes and mouth, but she was still the same woman Jenny had been raised by.

"Magda," she greeted the woman by the nickname bestowed upon her by a childhood Heather.

"Jenny, _querida_, how have you been?" Magda asked excitedly, pulling the red head into a bone-crushing hug.

"I've been good," Jenny laughed, smiling as she set her purse on the table in the foyer. "It smells good in here," she mused as they walked through the living room and into the kitchen, memories of her childhood assaulting her senses.

"Paella: your father's favorite, and yours too if I remember right," Magda said, removing the pan from the heat.

"It is," Jenny agreed appreciatively and then switched the conversation to Magda's daughter. "How is Noemi?" Jenny asked.

The two had played together as children and been close into adolescence until Noemi had left to backpack across Europe the summer of their senior year.

A look of disappointment and annoyance crossed Magda's face and she shook her head.

"Who knows?" she muttered, her accent more pronounced in her agitation. "She can't hold down a job or she won't. She travels all over the country with that _novio_ of hers and his little _banda_. I'm telling you, she's going to end up pregnant doing exactly what I do. She did not go to college, but she will have to take care of her responsibilities somehow. She is thirty and acts like she is twenty. Every day I wish she had turned out more like you."

"I'm sure she'll come around," Jenny assured her, smiling at the older woman though Noemi's behavior concerned her.

"I am not so sure," Magda sighed, handing Jenny a bowl of food, knowing she was there to see her father. "I worry about her."

"She'll be okay," Jenny assured her once more before turning to head up the stairs.

She found her father's study door slightly ajar and knocked, but walked in without waiting for an answer.

He looked up and smiled at her, shoving several papers into his drawer. She ignored it despite feeling suspicious and pretended as if she had not seen it.

"Hi, Dad," she said, smiling as she walked across the room

"Hi, sweetheart," he replied, sliding his glasses off his face as she set his food in front of him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, leaning against the edge of his desk.

"I'm fine. Your sister took good care of me," he assured her.

Heather had opted to stay with their father up until the previous day when she had needed to return to her job in California.

Jenny caught sight of a glass of scotch on the table, and though she knew her father was not supposed to be drinking with his medication, it was the second glass on the table that caught her attention.

"Did you have company?" she asked, nodding toward said glass, and she watched in puzzled suspicion as a look of panic and then fake nonchalance crossed her father's face.

"Yes," he replied. "Mr. Benoit came by. We had some things to discuss."

She nodded, deciding she could delve deeper later.

"Kelly would like to know if she can come to see you tomorrow," she said, smiling at the thought of the little girl.

"Have you told her yet?" he asked, stopping his writing to look up at his daughter.

"No. I just told her you weren't feeling well. I just think it would be better if she didn't know, at least for now." Jenny sighed wearily, dropping into the chair opposite him.

"I agree," he said. "Tell her that I'd love to see her tomorrow."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/n: I know, nothing too interesting this chapter, but it's more of a set-up/transition chapter, so I'll try to do a double update. Hopefully I'll have something up before Wednesday or Thursday, hopefully.

P.S. Reviews make me work faster :)


	18. Chapter 18

**_A/n: dinoZZodaVid008, Shy Chey 97, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, Ncisluver, Paris-eternellement, AzNeRd, ladybugsmomma, left my heart in Paris, MariskaBaby92, NCIS FTW, alix33, Kikilia14, and BoothB3, thank you all so very much for reviewing. I hope this update was fast enough. :)_**

* * *

><p>Jenny strolled up the walkway of her childhood home three weeks later, Kelly in hand.<p>

"Do you think he'll like my card?" Kelly asked of the home-made "Get Well" card in her hands.

"He'll love it, honey," Jenny murmured distractedly, lingering in the doorway as her eyes landed on what looked like Rene Benoit sliding into his car. He looked to be moving with great haste and maybe even trepidation.

She looked back into the house at the sound of Kelly's urgent call of her name and shut the door, catching sight of the driver just as he flew by the house.

When she looked back, Kelly was nowhere to be found.

"Kelly?" Jenny called, walking toward the kitchen upon hearing the brunette's small voice.

She stepped into the warm colored room, raising a brow upon seeing the guilty grin on Kelly's face.

"What are you doing?" Jenny queried casting a suspicious look upon the child who was doing a terrible job at hiding something behind her back.

"Nothing," Kelly giggled and Jenny was buffeted by memories of her childhood: hiding sweets from her mother with Magda's help.

"So you aren't hiding a lollipop behind your back?" Jenny asked knowingly and she laughed as Kelly's eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open.

The brunette quickly tried to redeem herself and grinned.

"No," she lied, shaking her head.

"You can have it," Jenny snorted and Kelly's grin widened.

She pulled the blue candy out from behind her back and yanked the wrapper off before sticking it in her mouth happily.

Kelly took a seat at the kitchen table and Jenny turned to Magda with a smile.

"She reminds me of you at that age," Magda murmured and Jenny smiled, allowing her gaze to drift to the overactive child wiggling in her chair.

"God, I hope not," Jenny laughed, and then turned to the conversation to their reason for visiting. "How is he today?" she asked, referring to her father.

"He has been in his study all morning. He asked not to be disturbed until you arrived," Magda said, shrugging. "I went to the store this morning and he had not been out when I came back as far as I know."

"We'll go up in a bit," Jenny said, taking a seat next to Kelly who hopped up from her seat and climbed onto Jenny's lap.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jethro shot up with a start, drenched in sweat, his eyes wide with emotions redolent of his nightmare.

"Damn it," he muttered at the emergent, stinging pain at the top of his head.

He looked around for the source of his abrupt awakening and spotted his phone ringing on his workbench.

He pressed the button to receive the call and held it to his ear.

"Yeah," he answered gruffly.

Jenny's resonant laughter drifted through the phone before she spoke.

_"Hi, Jethro. We might be a bit later than we thought. My father is still in his study doing God knows what," she mused._

"Yeah, alright Jen," he agreed, hoping he kept the irritation and pain out of his voice.

He had no such luck as Jenny asked, _"Is everything alright?"_

"Everything's fine," he replied a little brusquely.

_"Fine,"_ she acquiesced indignantly, and he could not help but smirk at the beginnings of her fiery temper.

"I'll see you whenever you get here, Jen," he murmured with a softer tone now.

He could not help but laugh when the call ended with no more than a simple _"Bye,"_ from her and the sound of the dial tone.

He rubbed the spot where he had smacked into the frame of his boat, groaning when he pulled his hand back and saw blood.

He was immediately assaulted by flashes of memories of far more blood, his blood covering his hands as he attempted to keep pressure on his wound; Rose's face being the last thing he saw before he faded into unconsciousness, wishing it were Jenny's or Kelly's.

He sighed heavily, running his other hand down his face in an attempt to calm himself. He grabbed the bottle of bourbon off his workbench and tipped it into an empty mason jar. He downed the glass with voracity, nearly choking at the strength of the alcohol, though he poured himself another glass, hoping to drown the memories that haunted him.

He moved to his feet and climbed the basement stairs, heading for the bathroom glass in hand. He rummaged through the drawers until he found the hydrogen peroxide and treated his head as best he could before tossing the gauze in the wastebasket.

Thus far, he had succeeded in keeping his demons from Jenny though he attributed that more to her father's illness and the amount of distraction it caused her rather than any great efficacy on his part.

She spent the night at her father's house more often than not lately and in retrospect, she was not there to see him wake up in a cold sweat; and the nights that she did risk staying with him she was often too tired to notice that he was not sleeping.

He hid the drinking by doing it in the basement. He counted on her and Kelly assuming that he was spending a little more time on his boat. He was restless and certain nights he would still wake up and feel as if he needed to check his home for intruders or make sure that Kelly was sleeping safely.

At first, he had felt that he was simply having a hard time re-adjusting to civilian life especially after the high-strung atmosphere of the special ops mission in Columbia. He still passed of the dreams and flashbacks as a normal consequence of being in a war-zone. You did not forget near death experiences. He had assumed that the feelings would fade, but they had done just the opposite.

He now reasoned that he would not adjust to civilian life and he needed the action again, so he put in an application to the Naval Investigative Service for which he had an interview the following week. It had enough to do with the Marines to satisfy him and little enough to satisfy Jenny.

He only hoped it proved to ameliorate his new-found restless nature.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny and Magda sat at the table while Kelly bounced around the kitchen hyped up on sugar. She quickly caught sight of a group of boys around her age playing football in the neighbor's yard and turned to Jenny.

"Aunt Jenny, can I go play with the boys?" she asked.

"No, honey, they're too rough," Jenny replied promptly and turned back to her conversation with Magda.

Kelly pouted and thought a moment before an idea struck her and she asked quite seriously, "Well if I find a smooth one, then can I play?"

Both women paused and Jenny eyed her for a moment trying to discern if she was sincere or simply trying to be smart. At Kelly's large, questioning eyes, Jenny grinned and laughed.

"I meant they play too rough, Kelly," Jenny replied through her laughter. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Oh," Kelly said in understanding.

_That made more sense. _

A moment passed before she said indignantly, "I won't."

"Won't what?" Jenny asked.

"Get hurt," Kelly insisted wanting to play outside

"Why don't we go see Uncle Jasper," Jenny offered and Kelly quickly forgot about the boys outside.

"Okay," she agreed gleefully.

As they reached the foot of the stairs, Kelly jumped in realization.

"I forgot my card," she announced and ran back into the kitchen to get it.

When she returned, Jenny stood waiting patiently.

"Ready?" she asked, and Kelly nodded.

She had to move quickly to keep up with Jenny's longer strides and even still she fell behind slightly.

"Aunt Jenny, slow down," Kelly complained, running to grab her hand.

"I was walking as slow as I could," Jenny laughed. "You need longer legs."

"I told God that, but he didn't answer," Kelly muttered dejectedly. "I guess he didn't hear me."

Jenny smiled, reaching out to turn the knob to her father's study.

Her smiled fell instantly and her eyes filled with both pain and horror as she gasped and covered Kelly's eyes with her hands, hoping the child had not seen what she had just seen.

"Magda!" she screamed urgently, slamming the door shut.

"Aunt Jenny, what's wrong?" Kelly asked wriggling out of Jenny's arms. "Why did you close the door?"

Jenny ignored her and simply called for the housekeeper again.

"Magda!" she cried, her voice bordering on hysteria.

The Spanish woman appeared at the top of the stairs and immediately assumed an expression of deep concern upon seeing the tormented one on Jenny's.

"Take her," Jenny said, her voice softer though no less afflicted as she all but pushed Kelly into Magda's arms.

"What is the matter?" Magda demanded, never having seen the red head so obviously in pain.

"Just take her downstairs and call 911," Jenny all but begged. "Do not let her up here," she stressed.

Magda stood unmoving staring at Jenny a moment, confused to say the least.

Only at Jenny's harsh command of, "Go!" did she take turn toward the stairs, her arm wrapped around Kelly's shoulders.

"Come, _hija_," she murmured, guiding Kelly down the stairs even at the child's soft protests.

Jenny fell back against the heavy, oak door as both Magda's warm, accented voice and Kelly's dulcet one faded with each step.

Once their voices were no longer audible Jenny turned and threw the door to her father's study. What she had seen before had been no nightmare or hallucination. Her father's lifeless body lay on the floor, his now dull, green eyes staring back at her, a gunshot wound marring his right temple.

"Daddy," she moaned, her face crumpling as she fell to the floor beside him. _This wasn't happening. _

She cradled his head in her arms, resting her head to his and hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she closed his eyes.

* * *

><p><strong><em>An: Anybody realizing what's happening to Gibbs yet…?_**


	19. Chapter 19

_**Brii Taylor**__**, **__**GIBBSandRYANxxx**__**, **__**NCIS FTW**__**, **__**DS2010**__**, **__**Autopsy Gremlin**__**, **__**alix33**__**, **__**ladybugsmomma**__**, **__**TeamCarlisleandEsme8**__**, **__**MariskaBaby92**__**, Ncisluver, **__**Kikilia14**__**, **__**Shy Chey 97**__**, **__**left my heart in Paris**__**, **__**AzNeRd**__**, **__**Allz1298**__**, thanks so much for reviewing and I'm sorry I didn't make my normal Sunday deadline, but it's not too-too late and it's a little longer than usual :)**_

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><p>Jethro stood in his basement, adding to the frame of his boat when he heard keys in the door from upstairs and assumed Jenny and Kelly were back.<p>

He dusted the sawdust from his hands and moved for the steps only to hear the opening of the basement door and then the thumping of small feet on the steps.

"Kelly, what are you doing down here?" he started, but stopped at seeing her red-flushed, tear-stained cheeks and glistening eyes.

His face immediately morphed into one of fatherly concern as she ran into his arms, burying her face in his chest.

"What's wrong, Kel?" he inquired gruffly, rubbing his daughter's back comfortingly. "Where's Jenny?"

She only continued to sob into his shoulder if more violently through his attempts at coaxing the cause of her affliction out of her.

When finally she had calmed herself enough to form words she pulled back to look at her father out of red rimmed, doe-eyes and sniffled.

"U-Uncle Jasp-per went to be-be with mo-mommy," she managed through gasping sobs before burying her face in her father's chest once more.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as he stroked her hair, murmuring words of comfort.

"Shh," he soothed her, making his way up the steps with her in his arms, and while he was concerned with his daughter for the time being that did not stop his thoughts from drifting to Jenny and how she was coping.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once Kelly had cried herself to sleep in his arms and he was sure she truly was into a deep sleep, he slid her gently out of his arms and tucked her into her bed. He stroked her hair and set her favorite stuffed animal beside her before exiting the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

He made his way down the steps and grabbed his keys from the hook by the door before slipping out quietly, shutting and locking the door behind him.

He ran a weary hand over an hours old five 'o clock shadow, unsure as to what he would find upon entering Jenny's house and what state she would be in. It had taken hours to console Kelly and hours more before he could slide her out of her arms without her stirring. There was no telling how Jenny's grief had manifested by then.

He slid his key into the lock and was greeted by her muffled screams. He immediately assumed her basement to be the source of the noise and the moment he opened the door her screams became clearer, resounding off the walls. It was a tortured sound: a mix of pain, anguish and rage.

As he made his way down the steps what appeared to be picture frames connected with the cement wall of the basement with a shatter before clattering to the ground to join a pile of at least ten more.

Only when he reached the last step did Jenny come into view. She stood in only her bathrobe with damp hair, tears streaming down her blotchy, red cheeks. Her skin was pink as if she had rubbed it raw and her chest heaved with her gasping sobs. She screamed that tormented scream through her sobs as if it took her great energy to do what she did each time she pulled a picture frame from the cardboard box sitting in the chair beside her, and pitched it across the room with all her strength.

He made his way to the back of the basement and grabbed her by the arm, causing her to spin to him in shock. Realization crossed her swollen, bloodshot eyes and the shock there faded to pain once more.

"Go away, Jethro," she demanded her voice little more than a whisper and she turned away from him.

Her ability to mask her emotions so quickly was somewhat unnerving to him and he wondered what else she had hidden from him in the past six years.

"Jenny," he tried, reaching for her, but she pulled away.

"Don't touch me, Jethro," she snapped, but her voice soon softened to a defeated, very un-Jenny-like tone. "If you touch me I'll lose it, and I _really_ can't lose it right now."

"So when I walked in here a few minutes ago, that was normal?" he demanded and fresh tears sprung to her eyes though she refused to exhibit the raw emotion she had several minutes ago.

"Someone _murdered _my father, and they're trying to pass it off as a suicide. My father did _not_ kill himself," she whispered though her expression begged that she was not entirely sure. "He wouldn't."

He said nothing, knowing that she needed to simply speak her mind without any interjections from him.

"I _know_ he was sick, but he wouldn't shoot himself in the head. My father wasn't a _coward_, Jethro," she insisted. "He took this disease head on and he was going to fight it until the end. He knew we were coming to see him today. He wouldn't _do _that knowing we were going to be there; knowing Kelly was going to be there. Jethro, he _wouldn't."_

He tugged her to him and she brought her hands to her mouth, letting out a choked sob as she buried her face in his chest.

Eventually, he hoisted her up into his arms bridal style and carried her to her bedroom, murmuring words of comfort as he went.

As he reached the foot of the basement stairs, the contents of the frames she had been throwing caught his eye. They were all of her father.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Three days into the investigation of her father's death, Jenny was visited by an Army CID agent.

Since her initial breakdown, she had become a stone statue: no emotions, no unnecessary outbursts.

At ten a.m. Monday morning she sat in her living room across from a surly looking, middle-aged man dressed in army fatigues who had introduced himself as Colonel Henry Abbot.

"Did your father give any indication that he was suicidal?" he asked.

"No," Jenny replied monotonously as she had answered each of his last five questions.

He stopped his questioning and hesitated, indicating that he did not know quite how best to phrase his next statement.

"Ms. Shepard, you're awfully calm for a woman who just lost her father to a violent suicide three days ago. You don't seem too cut up about his death. If anything, I'd say you were bored with my questioning," he said, his tone accusatory.

"Are you insinuating that _I_ murdered my father, Colonel?" she demanded dangerously.

"Ms. Shepard, I suggest that you try to familiarize yourself with the idea that your father most likely killed himself. He _was _under investigation for taking bribes from a foreign arms dealer," he said and watched shock flash across her eyes. "You didn't know that," he mused.

Jenny's emotionless mask was back as fast as it had dropped and he continued.

"Interesting how you jump to that conclusion though: that I think _you_ murdered him. That is the only other logical explanation for his death," he, arching a brow. "Your prints _are_ all over the body."

Jenny scoffed and her gaze dropped to her lap before meeting his again with flashing eyes.

"First of all, Colonel Abbot, I don't see that it's any of your business how I grieve for my father. _Second_, of course my prints are all over the body; I found him. Now, get the _hell_ out of my house," she spat, her words dripping with acrimony.

"We aren't finished yet, Ms. Shepard," he insisted.

"Oh I think we are, _Colonel Abbot_," she countered and yanked the front door open, her expression daring him to say anything more.

He stepped outside and she slammed the door in his face, massaging her temples once she had. _Bribe? What bribe had her father been accused of taking and why hadn't he told her about it?_

She grabbed a glass from her liquor cabinet and tipped the bottle of vodka into it before drinking it all in one gulp. _Could her day get any worse?_

Despite her best efforts to ward them off, Colonel Abbott's words haunted her thoughts and so, she found herself driving to her father's house later that afternoon after a meeting with the funeral director.

She parked her car in the driveway and jingled her keys in her hands as she made her way up the walkway.

She yanked the broken 'Caution' tape from the door, crumpling it in her hand and slid her key into the lock. The house had been cleared the previous day as no longer being an active crime scene. Jenny entered the house hesitantly, looking around. The house was in almost pristine condition; as if nothing had happened.

She took a deep breath and climbed the stairs to her father's study where she hoped to find what she was looking for. Her hand lingered on the door knob a moment before she pushed it open, stepping over a broken vase the crime scene investigators had been careless enough to knock over.

She sighed heavily and walked around his desk. She sat in his chair and yanked the top drawer open where she knew he kept his important papers. She flipped through the stack she found there, searching for anything that might have to do with the allegations he had failed to tell her about.

Hours passed while she scrutinized each and every paper in his study dated after his assignment at the Pentagon. She could only assume that the allegations were recent or he would have been discharged already.

By the time she had gone through everything in his office it was dark and she still knew no more than when she had arrived. She had long since shirked her blazer and she squinted through her glasses with tired eyes under only her father's dim desk-lamp. She sighed in frustration scratching her forehead and smacked her hands on the table.

Her actions caused the drawer she had been unable to open to come unstuck. She narrowed her eyes and tugged on the handle. Even still, it took a good amount of yanking to pull it open, but when it finally did open she was disappointed to find it empty.

She felt around in the drawer until her hand ran over something taped to the top. She peeled the tape away carefully so as not to rip the paper and pulled whatever it was out. She unfolded it and found some sort of contract. On it was the signature of Rene Benoit and an empty line for another signature.

She could only wonder what her father had been doing with Rene Benoit and why he felt the need to hide it in a fickly drawer.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The following Wednesday was the day of Jasper's funeral. The skies were ironically clear and blue; the sun was shining and there was only a comfortable breeze in the air. It was undoubtedly the most beautiful day of spring that year and yet, in Arlington National Cemetery, the mood was somber. Because Jasper was never officially found guilty of the allegations against him, he was given a full honor military funeral.

Jenny and Heather stood in the front row, their families on either side of them. Although they were nearly identical in their appeareances, at that moment they could have not have looked any more different. Jenny stood like a statue in her black suit and heels; no tears, no emotions at all. On the other hand, Heather was a teary mess with red eyes and tear stained cheeks.

The only indication that Jenny gave of her pain was the tightening of her grip on the hands of both her sister and Jethro as the guard carried her father's flag-draped casket across the grass and the 21-gun salute was fired.

They took their seats and watched as the flag was lifted off the casket and carefully folded. The rest of the guard marched away from the casket and Jenny was presented with the flag.

"_On behalf of the President of the United States and the people of a grateful nation, may I present this flag as a token of appreciation for the honorable and faithful service your loved one rendered this nation."_

Jenny nearly scoffed at the words _honorable_ and _faithful _when only several days previously they had still been trying to prove that he was a traitor to his _grateful nation_.

* * *

><p><em><strong>An: I am not part of a military family, nor have I ever seen a military funeral. I do as much research as I can on things I don't know about, but there are bound to be imperfections, so I'm sorry if Jasper's funeral wasn't exactly spot on.**_

_**Monkeys :)**_


	20. Chapter 20

_**ladybugsmomma, Autopsy Gremlin, MariskaBaby92, GIBBSandRYANxxx, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, Kikilia14, left my heart in Paris, Shy Chey 97, ParisNeverEnded, AzNeRd, alix33, dinoZZodaVid008, LadyJibbs, Ncisluver, you guys are awesome! Thanks for all the reviews you guys!**_

_**Hope you like this one :) Not so much sad in this one**_

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><p>The week after Jasper's funeral was Kelly's birthday. Jenny sat on the edge of the pool in a green bathing suit and a tie-dye sarong when Jethro popped up from under the water.<p>

She squeaked in surprise and he laughed.

"You scared the hell out of me," she breathed, though she cracked a smile.

"You okay?" he queried and she feigned confusion.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, and he fixed her with a look. "I'm fine," she conceded, grinning.

She smiled as he swam away but looked up in concern at the sound of Kelly's screams. She immediately relaxed upon seeing the child dissolved into a fit of giggles as she came off the water slide and splashed into the water.

She was pulled out of her reverie and screamed as she felt herself being pulled under water. She fell in with a splash, but almost immediately pushed herself back above water.

She surfaced coughing and gasped for breath. She felt a pair of arms around her waist and held tight to them. When her senses returned she turned to see that it was Jethro's arms holding her. Ironically enough, he had been the one to pull her under.

"Jethro!" she tried to scream, but ended up coughing out water instead. "That was _not _funny," she finally managed hoarsely.

"It was a little funny," he teased and she shoved him away from her, still coughing as she climbed out of the pool and took the towel offered to her by Maddie's mother.

She glared daggers at Jethro, who was still in the pool and now had the decency to look slightly guilty.

Not five minutes later, Jenny looked up to see Jethro handing her a glass of lemonade.

She granted him a small smile and a, "Thank you."

"Still mad?" he asked, smirking.

"No," she sighed, her smile widening, but before they could continue their conversation Kelly ran up and interrupted them.

"Are you still mad at Daddy?" she asked Jenny with inquisitive eyes.

"No," Jenny laughed and Kelly's face lit up in a grin.

"Good," she said, "Can you get my baby brother now?"

"Honey, you aren't getting a baby brother," Jenny said apologetically after a moment of stunned silence.

"I'm not?" Kelly asked pitifully, so much so that her face nearly broke Jenny's heart.

"No, honey," Jenny said.

"Maybe Christmas?" Kelly asked, piping up as hope made its way back into her eyes.

Jenny wanted to keep her happy on her birthday so much so that she replied, "Maybe Christmas."

Kelly cheered and ran back to the other end of the pool, shouting her best friend's name gleefully.

"Maddie!"

"Kelly, don't run!" Jenny admonished, making sure to be heard.

"Sorry!" Kelly called back and jumped into the pool instead.

Jenny laughed softly and sat back in her chair to see Jethro looking at her expectantly.

"What?" she demanded.

"Maybe Christmas?"

"I didn't want to depress the child on her birthday," she reasoned.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jethro walked into Jenny's house the following morning and nearly ran into a stark naked, giggling little boy with Jenny running after him.

"Liam Matthew, get back here!" she commanded, and he giggled as she scooped him up in her arms.

She turned and finally saw Jethro standing in the doorway with a shocked look on his face.

"Hi," she sighed and then looked down to address the wriggling tot in her arms. "Would you be still?" she snapped.

He did as he was told, though he continued to giggle.

"Have a seat, if you can find a place," she said, grimacing at the play things all over her house.

Heather had taken two weeks off to help Jenny with anything after the funeral: leftover bills, the will, etc and so, Jenny had her sister, her sister's husband, and their four ADHD children running around her three-bedroom house for another week.

Jethro chose to follow her to her room instead where he assumed she had lodged her sister and brother-in-law because there was a changing mat on her bed and baby things everywhere. Jenny laid the baby on the mat and pulled a fresh diaper from the bag on the bed.

She held his legs up and slid the diaper under him all while he wriggled and whined.

"Liam, sit still or so help me God," she muttered, and he retaliated by kicking out, his foot connecting with her face.

"Oh, that is _it_!" she growled, and called out to her sister. "Heather, come change you're devil spawn!"

Heather appeared in the doorway within the minute to see her older sister wrestling with her youngest son.

"Liam, are you giving your Auntie a hard time?" she asked, taking him from Jenny's arms.

Jenny glared at the child when he immediately calmed in his mother's arms.

She spun on her heel and left the room with Jethro behind her. She turned and glared at him when he started laughing.

"Shut up," she snapped, though a smile tugged at her lips. "You had a girl. I will _never_ have a boy."

"How do you know?" he laughed.

"I'll be the mother. I'll just tell it to be a girl," she replied primly. "So did you come over to tell me something or were you just lonely in that house all by yourself?" she asked teasingly.

"I got a job," he said, immediately garnering her attention.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"NIS," he replied and she furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Naval Investigative Service," he elaborated, and she bit the inside of her cheek.

"You couldn't stay away?" she chuckled wryly, and then smiled. "I'm glad, Jethro."

"Are you really?" he asked knowingly.

"You don't want me to answer that," she scoffed.

She then eyed him in concern, taking in the dark circles under his eyes.

"Are you alright? You look exhausted," she observed. She had been noticing odd behaviors from him as of late and she could not help but wonder if they had been present before and she had simply been oblivious.

"I'm fine," he replied, but his eyes told the truth.

She nodded disbelievingly, but left it at that.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that night, Jenny tipped down the stairs and slipped out of her front door. She nearly scoffed at herself as she made her way across the border between her yard and Jethro's; she found it utterly ridiculous that she felt the need to sneak out of her own house. However, she was starting to feel as if the walls of her home were closing in on her.

She turned her key in the lock to Jethro's door and stepped in quietly. She made her way up the stairs cursing at the squeaky fourth step. It was only because of the insane amount of time she spent in the house that she was not stumbling through the dark.

She pushed the door to Jethro's bedroom open, intending to slip into bed beside him; to get away from screaming children and the chaos that was her family. Instead she found him tossing and turning in bed, the bed covers tangled around him.

"Jethro," she called out to him softly, hoping not to wake Kelly.

As she neared closer to the bed she found that he was breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Jethro," she called his name again, and reached out to touch his arm.

She gasped in pain when his hand flew across the space between them and connected with her cheek as his other hand wrapped around her wrist in a vice-like grip.

As the last glimmers of his nightmare faded and reality set in, he registered red hair, immediately associating that with Jenny; and he suddenly became aware of the grip he had on her arm and her attempts to tug herself free.

"Jenny?" he demanded as his vision cleared and his breathing started to even out.

"What the hell?" she breathed, not sure whether to be shocked or angry.

He sat up in bed and turned on the light, illuminating a nearly livid Jenny, holding a hand to her face.

Jenny reluctantly sat on the bed at the blinding pain she experienced upon attempting to move her jaw.

"Are you okay?" he asked and the obvious pain in his voice softened her expression a bit, but her tone remained incensed.

"No, I am _not _okay," she snapped. "I think you just broke my jaw. Now, I'll ask you again. What the _hell _was that?"

"Jenny, you have to get that looked at," he insisted sincerely, though she felt it was a ploy to avoid her line of questioning.

"_Jethro!_" she growled.

Her anger started to fade and concern set in as she as she took in his harried appearance. His eyes were bloodshot and his forehead was still beaded with sweat.

"Jethro, what's the matter with you?" she asked, reaching out to touch his face. "You look awful. Jethro, are you sick?"

"No," he sighed, scrubbing his hands over his face. "Jenny, get that looked at, please?"

"Fine, I will," she conceded. "Just as soon as you tell me what you were dreaming about."

"Leave it alone, Jen," he warned and she gave him a reproachful look.

"Well, that isn't exactly easy to do when you just knocked my brains out," she quipped acridly, but sighed resignedly when she saw his face. "Jethro, talk to me," she all but pleaded. "I can't take any more secrets from anyone right now. My father kept secrets and now he's dead."

"Shell-shock, PTSD, whatever you want to call it," he replied, and she looked as if the wind had been knocked out of her.

"How do you know?" she demanded and he chuckled wryly.

"It's not that hard to figure out, I've been hearing about it for years, Jen," he replied.

"What happened on your last deployment, Jethro? You were fine before then. What aren't you telling me?"she demanded again.

"Jenny, I can't tell you," he insisted, no matter how much he wanted to when he saw the cracks starting to appear in her calm demeanor.

"Yes you can," she insisted, hysteria edging into her voice. "You just won't. You aren't in the Marines anymore, Jethro. It isn't as if I'm going to go tell the world or anyone for that matter what you tell me."

He saw that she was fighting hysterics and said, "Columbia. That's where they sent me. I had a target that was connected to the cartel. I got the shot, but I got caught by the cartel during extraction. The entire extraction team was killed. A local woman found me. She probably saved my life."

"So, you almost died _again, _and you didn't tell me?" she countered bitterly and laughed disbelievingly, as if she were going mad. "This is perfect, just perfect," she muttered sardonically. "God, I am so tired of people not telling me things because they think I'm some kind of porcelain doll who's going to shatter at the first sign of trouble. Damn it, Jethro, you have to tell me things. Please, just tell me things. My father didn't tell me things and now he's dead quite possibly because of a bribe _he didn't tell me about._"

"Okay," he answered simply, willing to say anything to calm her down though he was left to ponder the bit of information she had just blurted out.

"Okay," she whispered, and took a deep breath.

* * *

><p><em><strong>An: And for those of you who didn't figure it out...now we know what's wrong with poor Gibbs :(**_


	21. Chapter 21

**_A/n: Hey guys! New chapter :) Hope you like it. Shout outs at the end._**

Jethro walked into the bathroom the next morning to see Jenny applying a generous amount of makeup to a violet bruise on her right cheek.

She jumped upon seeing him in the mirror but gave him a small smile.

"Hey," she murmured, but scrunched her nose in dissatisfaction at the still visible bruise on her face.

"I did that," he said, his expression full of guilt and she looked up to meet his eyes once more.

"It's fine, Jethro," she sighed in irritation, brushing past him. "I told you that."

She had spent half the night trying to coax him back into the bed, convincing him that she would be fine. Even still she had the feeling that he had simply waited until she went to sleep before he got out of bed again.

"That was before I saw what I did to your face," he countered as they stepped into the kitchen.

"Jethro, it was an accident. It isn't as if you did it on purpose," she muttered, grabbing the bag of flour from the fridge.

She emptied about a tablespoon into a small cup and turned on her heel, heading back up the stairs.

She mixed some of the flour with her foundation once she was back in the bathroom and applied it to the bruised area, nodding in satisfaction as the purple color started to disappear under the makeup.

"You can't do this anymore, Jenny. There's something wrong with me, and I'm obviously capable of hurting you. You need to let me just ride this out. Alone," he said, and she turned on him, with a no-nonsense look about her.

"There is nothing _wrong _with you, Jethro," she insisted. "You have a war wound. That's what this is. If you had come back missing a leg or an arm, would you have told me to leave you then?" she demanded testily.

"If I had come back missing an arm, I wouldn't have hurt you like I did. There wouldn't be a possibility that I could do it again," he challenged tersely.

"Jethro, I know how much I can take. I told you, I'm tired of other people deciding that for me; namely chauvinist men like you and my father. If I_ can't_ do it anymore then I will tell you, but I don't see myself going anywhere for the foreseeable future, so get used to me," she said, smiling sweetly, though her tone indicated that she was not looking for any contradictions.

When she received none, but saw that his opinion had obviously not changed, she cupped his face.

"Jethro, I …bruise easily. I'm okay," she tried to assure him, but sighed when he pulled away from her. "I have to go make sure my sister hasn't burned my house down. Have a good day at work," she finished lamely, before turning to leave.

She passed Kelly in the hallway as she made her way toward the stairs.

"Hi, honey," she said, smiling at the pink pajama-clad child.

"Hi," Kelly replied, rubbing her eyes. "Where are you going?"

"To my house," Jenny answered, brushing a stray curl out of Kelly's face.

"Can I come?" Kelly asked and Jenny shrugged, nodding and held her hand out for the brunette to take.

When she pushed her front door open she nearly slipped on the water, sitting on her hardwood floors. She made her way through the mess and made her way toward the sound of running water, and her sister's frantic voice.

"Oh my God," she shrieked, running for the sink, but not before telling Kelly to stay put.

Her sister sat in the floor looking like a drowned rat while the kitchen sink spewed water.

Jenny flinched as she was soaked with water before she could get her hands around the hole.

"What happened?" she demanded of her sister, even as water made its way around the blockade of her small hand.

"Jenny, I'm so sorry," she apologized. "I was cleaning the dishes, and my wedding ring fell off the edge of the sink down the drain. I opened the pipe, but I forgot to turn the water off,"

"Turn it off now!" Jenny commanded, and her sister did as she was told, ceasing the water attack on Jenny.

Heather watched her sister for any signs of bubbling anger, but was shocked when Jenny started laughing. She laughed nervously, pushing wet strands of hair from her face.

"This has to be a dream, a really bad, bad dream," Jenny laughed, wiping water from her face.

In retrospect, she also unknowingly wiped away her carefully applied makeup, revealing her bruise to her sister.

"Oh my God!" Heather gasped, sitting beside her sister. "What did you do?" she demanded and shock flashed across Jenny's eyes before realization dawned on her.

"I'm fine, Heather. I fell," Jenny sighed, moving to her feet only to have Heather pull her back.

"I'm a nurse, Jenny. You can't lie to me," Heather countered, grabbing Jenny's face gently.

"Heather, I'm not lying to you. I did fall," Jenny said pointedly. _Technically she wasn't lying. She did fall; it just didn't cause the bruise, rather the other way around._

Suddenly, a thought dawned on Heather and her face told her emotions.

"You weren't here this morning. Did you go to Jethro's house last night?" she demanded. "Jenny did he do this to you? Oh! I will kill him!"

"Heather!" Jenny snapped pleadingly, nodding in Kelly's direction. "It was an accident," she said, sotto voce so as not to be overheard by Kelly.

It was then that Heather caught sight of the handprint mark on Jenny's arm and her eyes flashed.

"Was that an accident too?" she hissed. "And don't tell me you fell, because I don't know anything you can fall on that leaves a handprint shaped bruise _wrapping_ around your arm."

"Heather, please," Jenny all but begged. "Heather, he didn't do it on purpose. I was too close when he woke up. He's a wild sleeper."

"That's bull, and you know it," Heather snapped. "Why would you try to cover it up if it was an accident, and why lie to me and say that you did it yourself?"

"Because I knew you would jump to conclusions exactly as you are know," Jenny countered sharply.

"Jenny, I swear to God, if I ever see any other marks on you again or hear the slightest indication that he's hurting you…"

"You won't," Jenny insisted. "He isn't the type. He's over there beating himself up about it, no matter what I say."

"Fine," Heather acquiesced reluctantly.

"Thank you," Jenny sighed, moving to her feet. "Kelly, stay with Heather until I get back," she said, walking past the child quickly in an attempt to keep the state of her face from Kelly until she could cover it up again.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Jethro returned home, he sighed wearily as he walked through the front door. His first day at NIS had been nothing like he expected. The team leader, Mike Franks was different to say the least. Jethro also had the feeling that he did not care for him too much. He had yet to learn his name, instead calling him 'Probie.' His entire day had consisted of _watching_ per Franks' instructions. He had spent nearly two decades as a Marine sniper and now, he schlepped.

He climbed the stairs to his daughter's room and knit his brows in confusion upon finding it empty. He made his way down the hall and laughed softly upon finding both his daughter and Jenny curled up in his bed, the soft, blue light of the television flashing on their faces. He grabbed the remote from the end of the bed and turned it off before shutting the door behind him.

Jenny trudged down the stairs the following morning to find Jethro asleep on the couch with a book over his face. She smiled and grabbed a blanket from the hall closet and laid it over him before continuing into the kitchen.

She sat on the kitchen counter eating a cinnamon roll when he walked in half an hour later. She had developed a sugar habit as of late.

"What are you, five?" he teased, and she smirked.

He rested his hands on her hips and she smiled against his lips when he pressed them against hers.

"Yay!" Kelly cheered from the door way and Jenny gasped, her face flushing bright red.

Jethro laughed as Jenny buried her face in his chest in mortification.

"Does this mean you're getting married now?" Kelly asked, almost jumping up and down.

"No," Jethro laughed, lifting his daughter into his arms.

"Why not?" she demanded, crossing her arms with a disatisfied pout on her face.

"Because," he replied simply.

"Because why?" Kelly demanded. "If you marry her, she can be my mommy for real."

"I don't have to marry her for her to be your mommy, Kel," he replied.

"Well if you aren't going to marry her, then why were you kissing her?" she asked.

"You don't have to be married to do that either. Stop asking so many questions," he said, tickling her, sending her into a fit of giggles.

"Daddy, stop," she shrieked in laughter. "Aunt Jenny, help me!"

_**A/n: Ah! I did get shout outs up, so...**_

_**Autopsy Gremlin, ladybugsmomma, alix33, MariskaBaby92, NCIS FTW, ncis4ever21, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, Kikilia14, Shy Chey 97, left my heart in Paris, AzNeRd, and dinoZZodaVid008, you're all lovely! Thanks for reviewing :)**_

_**Monkeys :)**_


	22. Chapter 22

_**Brii Taylor, MariskaBaby92, ladybugsmomma, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, Prettycrazy, ncis4ever21, Kikilia14, Autopsy Gremlin, ParisNeverEnded, andriaallen, alix33, left my heart in Paris, Shy Chey 97, AzNeRd, dinoZZodaVid008, and my guest/anonymous reader, you guys are the best! Thanks for reviewing :)**_

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><p>Jethro stood from his chair, hearing his cell phone ringing in the living room.<p>

"I'll be back," he told his daughter, and she nodded groggily; her cereal had long since turned into a soggy mess while she attempted to re-gain what sleep she could with her head on the table. She was starting to develop an intense dislike for her school's decision to open an hour earlier.

He passed Jenny as she walked past him in a tank top and sweats with a head of disheveled hair, her cheeks still flushed from their morning activities. He had to admit he liked seeing her there in the mornings. He was even starting to accept her fruity smelling shampoo and soaps in his bathroom, and the feminine touch-albeit subtle-in his bedroom. Her stealing his razor was still a pet-peeve of his though.

"Lovely isn't it," she mused sarcastically, seeing his gaze drift to her impromptu hairstyle and he smirked in knowing that he was the reason for it before picking up his phone.

"Gibbs," he answered, watching the sway of Jenny's hips as she walked into the kitchen.

"Stop it," she hissed, turning to grin at him knowingly, and he smiled before returning his attention to his boss on the phone.

"Yeah, boss, I'm listening."

When he walked back into the kitchen he saw Jenny sitting in his seat tapping her nails against his coffee cup rhythmically.

He snatched it up before she could drink it only to find it considerably lighter than before. He peered into it suspiciously, and glared at her upon finding it empty.

"You messed up my hair," she pointed out primly as way of an explanation.

"Never mess with a Marine's coffee," he warned, and she widened her eyes in mock terror, a smile tugging at her lips. "That's a rule."

"And the chauvinist is revealed," she teased, grinning. "He has _rules_. Next thing I know, I'll be asking you for a weekly allowance."

* * *

><p>Jenny fished through her purse for her ringing phone as she walked through the mall with Kelly, having picked the child up from school less than an hour earlier.<p>

"Kelly, stay where I can see you," she warned before holding the phone to her ear. "Hello," she answered.

"Yes, I'm looking for Jennifer Shepard?"

a woman's soprano voice drifted through the phone.

"This is she," Jenny replied, wondering what the call was for; she did not recognize the voice.

Her expression went blank as the woman relayed the message.

She replied very tersely, "Yes, thank you," before snapping the phone shut and found Kelly again.

"Aunt Jenny, are you okay?" Kelly asked upon seeing the red head's face.

"I'm fine," Jenny responded distractedly. "Do you see anything you like?" she then asked of the clothes on the rack.

* * *

><p>Several hours later, Jenny and Kelly walked into Jethro's house and Kelly ran up the stairs with one of her bags of clothes, leaving Jenny with the rest.<p>

Jethro laughed, catching a glimpse of just his daughter's hair as she disappeared around the corner and into her room. He furrowed his brows in concern though upon seeing Jenny. She looked as if she were lost in some sort of reverie.

"You alright?" he asked, and she did not indicate yay or nay.

Instead she simply said with a dumbfounded look on her face, "My father left me his house."

"What are you going to do with it?" he inquired.

"I don't know, give it to my sister. She can decide what to do with it," she mused nonchalantly. "I don't want it."

"What do you mean, you don't want it?" he demanded, and she arched a brow at the intensity in his voice.

"I don't want the damn house, Jethro. Why do you care?"

"Because, it's not normal," he shot back. "You grew up in that house; and even if you don't want it you can sell it, but you want to just give it away?"

"It isn't as if I'm just signing the deed over to some stranger, Jethro," she snapped. "It's my sister for God's sake!"

"Your father gave that house to you, not your sister. If he wanted her to have it, he would given it to her or at least given it to the both of you," he reasoned, and her eyes flashed.

"Oh please," she spat. "_You_ don't get to lecture _me _on fathers. You haven't spoken to yours in nearly fifteen years."

His face darkened at the mention of his father, and he wondered just how the argument had gotten out of hand so quickly.

"Do what you want with the house," he seethed sharply, and she was left wondering the same thing.

* * *

><p>Jethro sat on the couch later that night reading under the dim light of the table lamp when she made an appearance again. She wore a look akin to that of a dog with its tail between its legs.<p>

"I shouldn't have said what I said," she murmured softly, pulling her hair over her shoulder in an effort to retain at least some semblance of nonchalance. "You didn't deserve it. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," he fired back and laughed internally, thinking that Franks really was getting to him.

"I just don't want the house, okay? " she sighed, dropping to the couch beside him. "There's nothing abnormal about it. I just don't want it."

"Magda won't have a job," he pointed out, and he watched her resolve fall for a moment.

"Heather wouldn't fire her," Jenny scoffed at the ridiculousness of the idea.

"Heather has a house. She lives in California. She'll probably sell it and then Magda won't have a job," he stressed further, knowing that Jenny would regret giving the house away.

"I really hate it when you do that," she sighed resignedly, rolling her eyes half-heartedly.

"What?" he queried.

"Manipulate me into doing things," she snapped contemptuously and he laughed softly so as not to risk waking his daughter.

* * *

><p>The following afternoon, Jenny walked into her father's house, her house now, to find Magda dusting the bookshelves.<p>

The housekeeper looked up and smiled.

"Senorita," Magda greeted her, and Jenny furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Senorita?" she laughed. "Since when have you called me that, Magda?"

"You have inherited the house, no?" Magda pointed out, and Jenny immediately understood.

"Oh, Magda, please don't," she said, shaking her head. "It feels weird to have you call me that. You're more like a mother to me. I don't want our relationship to change because I suppose technically, I'm your boss now."

Magda shrugged, and hesitated before speaking again.

"Jenny, like you said, you are my boss now. This means you are not selling the house?" she asked.

"No," Jenny responded, shaking her head in the negative. "Were you worried for your job, Magda?" she asked, concerned that the older woman need feel that way even if it had come very close to being a possibility.

Magda's lack of response was enough of an answer.

"You will have a job here as long as you want it, Magda," Jenny assured her sincerely, and Magda smiled gratefully.

There was no longer a doubt in Jenny's mind as to what to do with the house.

* * *

><p>When Jenny returned to Jethro's house that evening, she smiled at seeing Kelly curled up in his arms, both of them sound asleep. She debated leaving them that way but she knew he would complain about his back or his neck should she do that, and in the back of her mind she worried about him having another nightmare. She told him and herself that she had forgotten about the incident that caused her still healing bruises, but if he hurt his daughter-accident or not-he would never forgive himself.<p>

"Jethro," she whispered, grabbing his hands as she had learned to do each time she woke him. He did not always exhibit outward signs of his nightmares.

He opened his eyes slowly, and she immediately felt guilty for waking him. This had obviously been a night of peaceful sleep.

"Go get in the bed. I don't want to hear you whining about your back tomorrow," she laughed softly.

He gave her a lazy smile, and she could not help but think he looked quite positively adorable that way. She would never tell _him_ that. He would probably glare and insist that he was not cute, and then maybe sulk for a while.

She slid Kelly out of his arms and into hers as he moved to his feet and they headed up the stairs with him behind her.

He watched as she laid Kelly gently into bed, undressed her, re-dressed her in pajamas, and tucked her in all without waking her up before she kissed the brunette softly on the forehead and brushed a stray piece of hair out of his daughter's face.

He knew then that the decision to ask her what he planned was right.

He sat up in bed ten minutes later when she walked out of the bathroom rubbing the remnants of her moisturizer into her neck.

She slipped into bed beside him and turned off the light before snuggling into his side, and slid her feet under his legs. He smiled, her actions being customary. She hated the feel of cold sheets and her feet were always the coldest.

"Jen, I need to ask you something," he said seriously.

"What?" she murmured drowsily, not bothering to open her eyes.

"What do you think about adopting Kelly…legally?" he asked, and her head popped up in an instant.

She reached up to switch the light back on and eyed him a moment, the sheets sliding down around her waist, her hair tumbling down her back as she sat up in bed; and knit her brows trying to discern whether he was serious.

When she realized that he was, her face expression softened into mild shock.

"You're serious?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"Yeah," he laughed in confirmation.

"You're serious?" she repeated, trying to grasp the reality of what he was asking her. "I mean, I'm already listed as her guardian aren't I?"

He nodded, but said, "Still, I don't want any problems if something happens and you try to take custody of Kelly; especially with everything that's going on," he added, referring to his PTSD. "This way you'd be her mother in every meaning of the word, even legally. Besides I don't see her making any objections."

She bit her lip, mulling his words over in her mind.

"Well, I mean I have to think about it-I should think about it, right. Yeah, I have to think about it," she fumbled, running her hands through her hair out of nervous habit.

"Meaning yes?" he pushed knowingly, and she smiled.

"Meaning yes," she agreed, giggling when he pinned her to the bed with his legs on either side of her.

**_A/n: So Jenny's the cause for one of rules..aww :) Hope you enjoyed it!_**


	23. Chapter 23

_Kikilia14, alix33, MariskaBaby92, ncis4ever21, AzNeRd, Shy Chey 97, andriaallen, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, ladybugsmomma, left my heart in Paris, Guest reader, LillyPheonix, Autopsy Gremlin, NCIS FTW, LilyEvans98, Sam, TwiHardSteph, thanks so much for reviewing! You guys are great :)_

* * *

><p><em>Shots rung out through the Columbian jungle, and Jethro's heavy breathing and rapid footfalls echoed in his ears as sweat poured down his face. His extraction team was dead, and he knew he was next. He felt bullets tearing through his abdomen, and he fell to the ground with a groan. Kelly's face flashed in front of his eyes, and then Jenny's, and then Shannon's.<em>

_"Jethro," Shannon called, her glowing face full of concern. "Jethro, wake up."_

_What was she talking about? He was awake. He knew it because he was hurting like hell._

Soon, Shannon's voice started to fade, and it was replaced by Jenny's; though her voice was frantic rather than dulcet.

"Jethro! Wake up!" she commanded, and the last recesses of his dream faded as Jenny's face came into view once more, her emerald orbs dancing with concern.

He tried to get his breathing under control, and cleared his voice as he sat up in bed. His face was beaded in sweat.

"I'm fine," he assured her even though his face showed that he was trying to shake off his nightmare. It had been so real; realer than before.

"You're not fine," she contradicted him softly, pushing his damp hair off of his face.

She could obviously tell it had been worse than usual too. She didn't usually-for lack of a better word-shrink him after a nightmare. She would ask if he wanted to talk each time, but when he said no she just got him back to sleep or his favorite option-took a shower with him.

"I am," he insisted matter-of-factly, and she sighed in frustration.

"Jethro, you have to talk to someone. You won't talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about, Jenny," he sighed heavily, pushing himself out of the bed.

"Oh no?" she demanded sardonically, her eyes flashing in anger at his insistence to downplay everything that was going on. "How about we talk about the fact that you've woken up in a cold sweat every night for the past week; correction, _I_ had to wake you up."

"I told you didn't have to be here for this, Jenny," he reminded her peevishly, turning on the shower and her expression softened somewhat.

"That isn't what I meant and you know it, Jethro," she sighed, leaning against the door frame. "Will you at least think about it?" she asked.

"Fine," he acquiesced simply to end the conversation.

By the look on her face, he figured she knew that, but he dropped his pants and stepped into the shower.

"There're better ways than talking," he said suggestively and she snorted quite indelicately, raising a brow.

"Yeah, nice try," she laughed sarcastically, walking out. "I'm going back to sleep."

Jethro stood in the shower, the hot water beating against his chest as he thought over what Jenny had said. Every night that the nightmares plagued his mind, he thought that it was a wonder he had passed his psych exam for NCIS, and going to any kind of shrink would only give them reason to look into it.

When he stepped back into the bedroom he found Kelly on his bed chattering away happily while Jenny laid with her eyes closed murmuring sleepy sounds of acknowledgement every now and then.

"Come talk to me, Kel," he beckoned, reaching into his drawer for a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. "Let Jenny sleep."

Kelly heeded her father and stepped around the laundry basket at the foot of the bed, but stopped in the middle of the floor to pick up something that looked to have fallen out.

"Daddy, what's this?" she asked, holding it up curiously.

Jethro turned and his eyes literally bugged out of their sockets. In his _six year old_ daughter's hand was some piece of lacy, black scrap of fabric he assumed were to be taken for underwear. In as long as he could remember Leroy Jethro Gibbs assumed the look of a deer caught in headlights, and he turned to Jenny who was still laid on the bed with her eyes closed.

"Jen," he called a little hoarsely, and she looked up at him, annoyed. He nodded toward Kelly or rather what she was holding, and said, "She wants to know what it is."

He did not think he had ever seen Jenny move quite so fast. She was off the bed in an instant, and all but snatched the underwear from Kelly's hands, and tossed it back in the laundry basket.

"_That_ is for grown-ups, and I don't ever want to see you in one until you're thirty and married" she said, only half joking. "Let's go make some pancakes."

Kelly _did _know what that was, and any thoughts of the black, lacy thing were pushed from her mind at the thought of chocolate chip pancakes.

"Yes," she agreed and grabbed Jenny's hand, pulling her from the room.

Jenny turned back to Jethro just before she disappeared out the door, and grimaced, mouthing the word, 'Sorry.'

* * *

><p>After breakfast Jenny and Jethro sat Kelly down in the living room, and the little girl looked up at her father with wide eyes.<p>

"Are you going away again?" she asked dolefully.

"No," he assured her, smiling softly. "I said I was staying right?" he reminded her gently, and she nodded her head. "No, this is something good."

"What is it?" Kelly inquired tentatively.

"What do you think about Jen being your mom for real?" Jethro asked, and Kelly's entire face lit up.

"Are you getting married?" she gasped, and her father laughed.

"Not yet," he replied, and met Jenny's eyes with a teasing look.

Jenny was obviously caught off guard by his statement and blinked at him in surprise before assuming a small smile in an attempt to cover it up.

"Well, then how is she going to be my mommy?" Kelly queried curiously.

"Do you know what adopting is?" he asked, and Kelly nodded.

"Jenna's adopted. Her mommy couldn't take care of her, so she gave her to her new parents and now they take care of her," she responded.

"So, if Jenny adopts you, would that make you happy?" he asked, and Kelly grinned before running to jump onto the couch beside Jenny.

"Can I call you mommy, now?" she asked, "Jenna calls her new mom Mommy."

"If you want to, honey," Jenny laughed, cupping the child's face affectionately.

* * *

><p>Jenny sat in front of the television later that night with Kelly sitting at her feet. The commercial ended and the dark skinned news anchor for channel NBC came on.<p>

_Tonight, the serial murderer that has been attacking young woman in the D.C. area strikes again._

The anchor's broadcast was cut short when the television snapped off and they were covered in shroud of darkness with the sound of the power going out.

Jenny growled and moved to her feet with the intention of going to look for candles. She had not made it three feet before a crack of thunder shook the house, and she jumped involuntarily with a yelp. She turned to Kelly who was giggling on the floor and glared at her despite knowing that she could not see it.

"I'm glaring at you," she said childishly, smiling when Kelly's laughter intensified and rose in pitch.

She returned to the living room fifteen minutes later empty-handed.

"Call Mrs. Tyler, and ask her if you can stay there until I can go buy some candles. It's just up the street, but I don't want to leave you here alone," Jenny said, searching around blindly for her purse.

Upon finding it, she fished her cell phone out and handed it to Kelly before heading up the stairs to get her shoes and Kelly's.

When she reappeared at the foot of the steps, Kelly handed her phone out to her, taking her shoes in return.

"She said yes," Kelly informed her, and Jenny nodded.

"Ready?" she asked as Kelly stood up, stomping her foot into her shoe and nodded.

They drove the four houses up the street to Maddie's house and her mother opened the door before Jenny could even knock.

"Hey, Jenny," she said, smiling as Maddie ran to the door.

"Hi Miss Jenny," she greeted politely, but turned to Kelly immediately. "Kelly, come on," she demanded, tugging her friend under the arms of the adults.

Jenny and Ellen laughed, but it was Jenny who spoke first.

"Thanks," Jenny said. "I won't be long, but I didn't want to leave her there in the dark."

"It's no problem," Ellen assured her, but then wrinkled her brow in concern. "Are sure it's safe for you to be out there alone. You've heard about this crazy guy, right? You're younger than the rest of us," she said, referring to herself and the other mothers and the killer's preference for young women.

"I'll be fine," Jenny assured her, waving off her concern. "I'll be maybe fifteen minutes."

Ellen nodded though she was unconvinced, and said, "I'll call Jethro if you aren't back in twenty-five."

As she drove down the road, Jenny realized that there were very few cars on the road other than herself. She was starting to think she was stupid for going out. Everyone else obviously had the sense to stay home. She gasped when the shrill ringing of her phone cut through the silence in her car.

She exhaled, berating herself for being so jumpy, and rooted through her purse while she tried to keep her eyes on the road. She grabbed it just before the last ring and held it to her ear.

"Hello?" she answered.

_"Hey, Jen. Are you guys okay?" _Jethro asked, sounding tired.

"We're fine," she replied, turning into the convenience store parking lot. "Kelly's at Maddie's house. I had to go out to get some candles and batteries. We have no light in the house."

_"You're out at this time of night, Jenny?"_ he demanded, his concern for her coming off as anger. _"You know about this guy. He goes after young women at night."_

"Well first off all, thank you for calling me young," she teased, but quickly assumed a more serious tone. "I'll be fine, Jethro. I just went up the street to that convenience store."

_"Call me when you get home, Jen,"_ he demanded imperatively, and she sighed as she set her things on the counter.

"Fine, Jethro," she acquiesced, handing over her credit card. "I told you it wouldn't take long. I'm leaving the store now, and I am perfectly alive."

_"Jenny, I'm not kidd-,"_ he started in on her, but was cut off by her terrified albeit muffled scream. _"Jenny!" _he snapped, gathering his things already running for the elevators.

* * *

><p>Jethro ran into the emergency room in search of Jenny forty-five minutes later, having learned nothing of her condition from the convenience store owner; only what hospital she had been taken to. He did not have to search long as he voice carried rather well.<p>

"I am fine," she snapped. "I already told the officers everything I know. I would like to go _home _now."

When she finally came into view, he let out a breath he did not know he had been holding. Once he saw that she was alright and snapping at hospital staff, the anger bubbled to the surface: anger at her for being so reckless and anger at himself for not catching the bastard yet.

"God damn it, Jenny," he snapped, coming up beside her.

"I'm fine, Jethro," she growled, despite the sling on her arm.

Jethro looked to the nurse for information, and the brunette promptly replied, "He was swinging for her head, but she dodged it and he got her shoulder instead; knocked it clean out of it's socket. The store owner said he took off; neither of them got a good look at the guy. Your wife had DNA under her nails-"

Jenny cut her off.

"He is _not_ my husband," she snapped with condescension. "What ever happened to patient confidentiality?"

"I'm your next of kin, Jenny, " he reminded her pointedly and Jenny narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well, _kin_ can we go home now?" she implored mockingly.

The nurse interjected again.

"She'll be fine," the nurse assured him. "I gave her a prescription for pain killers if she needs them. She's very lucky."

Once the nurse had left and pulled the curtain closed behind her Jethro dragged the lone chair in the room to sit in front of Jenny, and rested his hands on her thighs.

"Hell, Jen, do you go looking for trouble?" he asked, sliding his hands down to her calves. He rested his head on her knees, knowing just how bad things could have gotten. He had seen first hand what their serial killer could do. It was all too obvious that he could have lost her.

As an afterthought he sat up and pulled his own knife out of his pocket, and handed it to her.

"Always carry a knife, always," he insisted. "That's a rule too."

She gave him a small smile, taking the blade from him.

"What will you have?" she queried, her hands in his hair.

"You're more important," he said without skipping a beat, realizing suddenly that he loved her; he was _in _love with her.

* * *

><p><em>An: So the bit with Kelly...I was having a throwback moment and watching the video for Thong Song...SNL reruns...Don't ask :D_


	24. Chapter 24

**_alix33, Anne, NCIS FTW, MariskaBaby92, Kikilia14, Sam, GIBBSandRYANxxx,ladybugsmomma, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, Shy Chey 97, AzNeRd, left my heart in Paris, dinoZZodaVid008, ncis4ever21, thank you all so much for reviewing!_**

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><p>Jenny laid awake, her eyes having long since grown accustomed to the darkness. She found herself unable to sleep knowing that Jethro would be having another one of his nightmares. They had become more and more frequent as of late. It was no longer a question of if his muscles would tense and his face would twist up in pain, or if he would grab her painfully during the night; but when.<p>

Even after so many nights of the same thing, she still sucked in her breath, surprised when she felt his fingers shoot out and wrap around her bicep like something out of a horror movie.

"Jethro," she whispered, knowing it was almost futile to try loosening his grip. The bed clothes slipped down to fall precariously around her waist as she propped herself up on her elbows up to touch his shoulder. "Jethro, wake up," she called louder this time.

She watched the rapid movement of his eyes and the customary beading of sweat on his forehead and she winced as the pain of his grip started to set in.

"Jethro, you're hurting me," she called loudest yet. That always woke him, though she always denied voicing any such accusations once he was alert.

He opened his eyes with a disoriented look about him to see Jenny's imploring eyes staring back at him. He also realized that he had his fingers wrapped around her arm and loosened them immediately.

"Jethro?" she prompted gently, the forever hanging question in the air. _Do you want to talk about it?_

He sighed and pushed himself up in bed, tossing the uncomfortably warm bed covers off himself. She rolled into his side, running a comforting hand up his chest to feel his rapid heartbeat. Her head moved up and down with the now-leveling movements of his chest.

He shut his eyes and ran a weary hand down his face.

"I hurt you, Jen?" he asked, sliding her off him gently just as he did each time she woke him and his hands were on her, his actions from his dreams seeping into reality. Only instead of fighting against his captors in Columbia, he was hurting Jenny in D.C.

"No," she lied per usual, and he nodded as she pulled her knees to her chest.

He watched her rake her hands through her hair, dropping her head to her bent knees. She was looking more exhausted each day, and he was almost positive she wasn't sleeping. It was not unusual for him to find her passed out on the couch with her design plans spread across the coffee table, her pumps dangling off her feet.

He slid out of bed heading for the shower, and she slid back under the covers; she did not have the energy to fight with him. They had been having little spats over everything under the sun lately. Their bigger arguments had been over the ridiculous amount of time he spent on the serial killer case he was working. He always insisted that it was personal now. As she drifted into sleep she thought that she missed how they were before this: more carefree, easier, happy.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The following week, after a welcomed break in nightmares and fighting she woke with a yawn, raking her hands through her hair. She wrinkled her brow at the feeling of extra weight on her finger-her wedding finger. She held her hand out, and her eyes widened at the shiny new accessory she found there.

"Jethro!" she murmured getting out of bed, unable to take her eyes off the diamond. "Jethro!" she yelled as it hit her that there was a diamond ring on her finger-an engagement ring.

He wanted to _marry_ her?

She ran down the stairs, calling his name louder, "Jeth-" she stopped nearly running smack into him.

"Yeah?" he asked as if there were not a very prominent piece of jewelry on her hand.

She laughed in bewilderment, and held her left hand up.

"Do you like it?" he asked just as noncholantly, and she scoffed in disbelief.

"Do I like-Jethro, is this what I think it is?" she demanded.

"Depends what you think it is," he replied cryptically.

"Are you asking me to marry you?" she asked, her voice little more than a whisper, and he took her hand, pulling her to him.

"I'm asking you to marry me," he said, and she bit her lip before a grin split her face and she nodded.

"Is that a yes?" he asked, and she laughed.

"Yeah," she agreed, shrieking when he lifted her off her feet and she pressed her lips against his.

"I love you," she murmured, laughing internally upon realizing that the first time she had said that to him was after accepting a marriage proposal.

She hoped this was a step in getting back to the way they used to be.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Her hopes were dashed when two weeks later their fights were no better than before-maybe even worse than before despite the ring on her finger.

Jethro had left earlier the following morning to work on the serial case again, and so Jenny was left with the task of getting Kelly ready for school.

The brunette walked into the kitchen and hopped into her chair at the table as Jenny placed a bowl of cereal in front of the child and took a seat across from her, nursing a cup of coffee.

Kelly wrinkled her nose at the cereal distastefully.

"Mommy?" she called, but received no response from the seemingly distracted red-head. "Mommy?" she called, and when again she received no response called Jenny by her usual moniker. "Aunt Jenny!"

Jenny jumped, cursing as hot coffee sloshed into her lap.

"What?" she sighed, holding her stained shirt away from her stinging skin.

"Are you okay?" Kelly implored, cocking her head to the side.

"Well, I was until I spilled hot coffee all over myself," Jenny muttered in agitation, but quickly amended her statement. "I'm fine. Why?"

"Because there's orange juice in my cereal," Kelly replied, her voice rising in pitch in her distaste, and grimaced at the unsavory-looking concoction.

Jenny sighed as she walked back to the table to see that there certainly was orange, pulp-riddled liquid soaking into increasingly soggy Cheerios. She sighed, and rubbed her forehead.

Kelly wrinkled her brow fearing Jenny was about to cry.

"Aunt Jenny, are you sure you're okay?" she asked, frowning in concern.

"Not mom anymore?" Jenny asked teasingly, and Kelly grinned sheepishly.

"You didn't hear when I said before," she explained simply.

"I'm fine, honey. I'm just tired," Jenny assured her. "If I give you money, do you think you can get breakfast at school this morning?" she asked, fearing Kelly would miss the bus if she delayed her any longer.

Kelly nodded, and Jenny fished through her purse to find her wallet, and handed Kelly several dollars out of it.

"Don't lose it," Jenny admonished, and handed Kelly her lunch, shooing her off to the bus. "Go, before you miss the bus."

She watched from the window as the bus came up to the side of their house, and Kelly ran down the driveway. Once she saw that she was safely on, Jenny growled at the highly inconvenient coffee colored stain on her cream blouse. _She actually liked that shirt. _

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jethro did not set foot through the front door for two more days. When he did, he found Jenny sitting the living room asleep, her head in an awkward position. She had obviously been trying to wait up for him.

She gasped and sat up having heard his heavy footfalls and the rustle of his clothing in the otherwise silent house. She looked up with sleep-hazed eyes and sighed upon seeing Jethro's face before her.

"Two days this time," she murmured acridly, though the sleep in her voice took away from the intended contempt.

"Told you not to wait up," he said, kneeling to the floor in front of her, hoping to deflect her angry words and in retrospect another argument.

"I wasn't waiting up," she shot back derisively, swinging her feet over the edge of the couch to sit up, and he smirked.

"Two days is ridiculous, Jethro," she sighed, never mind those two days had been her only full nights of sleep in as long as she could remember.

"Can we not fight tonight, Jenny," he sighed wearily.

"Jethro, this case is getting to you too much," she insisted, ignoring his bequest. She assumed a stance that told him there would be a shouting match if he wasn't careful. "You got out of the Marines to spend more time at home. Now, you're gone for days at a time and then you fly in here for one night. Kelly usually never sees you. You're gone again before she wakes up."

"You of all people should understand, Jen. He came after you. I told you, I can't let this go," he growled, tired of having the same argument over and over again. "Kelly understands that my job takes a lot of time. I'll be home more when we catch him."

Jenny's eyes flashed, and she advanced on him.

"How would you know what Kelly understands? You're never here to ask her!" she seethed, her voice rising. "Suppose you never catch him. Then what: you spend the rest of your days in that place not sleeping, working on some cold case?"

"Jesus, Jenny! I'm tired of having the same damn argument. Did you ever think that maybe the reason I only come back every two days is because I'm tired of hearing you berating me the minute I walk through the door. You scream about me working too much, then you snap about me talking to someone every minute of the day."

"So, you hate me for trying to help you?" she demanded peevishly, masking the pang of hurt she felt.

"I don't need your help!" he spat, and she brushed past him, purposefully knocking his shoulder.

"I'm going to bed," she muttered. "Do _not_ follow me!"

"It's my bed," he shot back, though he instantly regretting such a petulant reply, and she spun on him.

"Oh, so it's _your _bed now?" she scoffed. "Fine."

"Where are you going?" he asked, a feeling of worry jumping to his chest at seeing her hand on the doorknob.

"_Home_," she spat, slamming the door behind her, and it surprised him how much her words cut; the fact that she no longer considered his home hers.

He suddenly got the feeling that he was being watched, and looked up to see Kelly peering through the space in the banister, looking as if she were going to cry. She ran back to her room once she realized she had been seen, and he dropped to the couch rubbing his tired eyes.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny walked into work the following morning, to see her receptionist smiling at her. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but gave the younger woman a guarded smile.

"What?" Jenny asked.

"There's something for you in your office," her receptionist said, and Jenny pushed her door open.

On her desk was a particularly large bouquet of orchids. She smiled, knowing that only one person had knowledge of her favorite flower. She crossed the room and picked the card out of the bouquet. On it in familiar scratchy scrawl was a simple, 'Sorry.'

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><p><strong><em>An: Well, we're coming to a close on this story you guys. There's about two more chapters until the end. You're in for quite a bit of drama and then hopefully a satisfying ending :)_**


	25. Chapter 25

_Thanks for reviewing you guys! I really appreciate it, and I'll gett shout outs up next chapter. I just wanted to get this chapter up since it's kind of late :)_

_Hope you enjoy it!...I did say drama..._

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><p>Jethro stormed into his house in a particularly foul mood after another dead end on their case. What he heard made him stop in his tracks. Kelly's animated voice met his ears which was not uncommon, but as he made his way into the living room his thoughts were confirmed. Sitting on his sofa with his daughter was his father.<p>

Kelly looked up and saw him first.

"Hi Daddy," she called, grinning. "Look who's here."

Jethro did not smile or respond to his daughter's greeting; instead, he met his father's eyes and asked him coldly, "What are you doing here?"

"Your wife-" Jackson started, but Jethro cut him off.

"Where is she?" he seethed, though he did not bother to correct his father.

"Daddy, is everything okay?" Kelly asked, never having seen her father looking so angry.

"Not now, Kelly," he growled, before turning on his heel in the direction of the kitchen. He had seen Jackson's eyes flit to the door at his demand as to Jenny's whereabouts.

He threw the door open and found her chopping vegetables.

"What the hell is he doing here, Jenny?" he demanded, his eyes darkened to cobalt in anger.

"I called him," she replied calmly, having known he would be livid.

"And just _what_ made you think that was okay?" he snapped, leaning menacingly over the counter.

She stabbed the chopping knife into the cutting board as if to counter his attempt at intimidating her, and moved it to the side.

"You won't talk to me, you won't talk to a doctor. You walk around here all day as if nothing is wrong when every night it is blatantly clear that there _is_!" she growled. "If anyone can talk some sense into you, then maybe your father can.

"You had no right, Jenny!" he barked. "This isn't your decision to make."

"Well, I had to make it because you won't!" she shot back, her voice elevating to match his.

"I made my decision! I told you there's nothing to _talk about_," he rebutted sharply. "I don't need to talk to you and I damn sure don't need to talk to him."

"It's the wrong decision," she countered petulantly."It isn't going to get better just because you try to ignore it."

"Lay _off_, Jenny. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that. You don't need to worry about it," he seethed.

"Damn it, Jethro!" she shrieked, her anger bubbling over. "You think you can put a ring on my finger and shut me out. I can't remember the last time I slept, because I sit up at night waiting to pull you out of some nightmare that you won't even tell me about."-she jabbed the knife in her hand at him, waving it around dangerously-"_God, _I lie to you every night, and tell you that you aren't hurting me so you don't feel guilty; when in reality, I've got bruises all up and down my arms."

She slammed the knife back onto the counter.

"Don't you _dare _tell me that I don't need to worry about it," she hissed, her eyes flashing, having effectively shocked him into silence. "Why do you treat me like this, Jethro? Damn it!" she demanded sounding almost desperate.

"Jen-" he tried, but she cut him off.

"Do _not _speak," she spat, and the way her nostrils flared and her rigid posture told him it was in his best interest to heed her warning. "You think that you can protect everyone in the world, but when someone tries to give a damn about _you_, you turn into a self-righteous, arrogant, _bastard._"

Everything she had been holding in for his sake was pouring out; the dam had broken. He listened realizing just how much he had put her through; he watched the wild movements of her hands and the multitude of emotions that crossed her face.

"I can't do this anymore, Jethro. You think you can be Superman, but you don't stop to _think_ how your God-complex affects me or your daughter for that matter. That would just be to _selfless_ for you. You don't know how I feel because you don't want to care or you _won't. _Then, you spend all day and half the night at work on this damn case, and I hate you for it."

"I care Jenny, hell," he insisted. "I spend all day on that case because I know he might come back for you. I've seen what he can do."

"It isn't going anywhere," she snapped. "You've been on this case for over a month now. Even Mike tells you to go home, but you stay anyway. Kelly wants you home. _I_ want you home, or at least used to."

She shook her head, and held a hand over her eyes as she felt the sting of hot tears. She pushed the kitchen door open and let it swing behind her.

"Jen!" he called half-heartedly, and cursed himself.

He could count the number of times he had seen her cry on one hand, but he could never remember her crying because of something he said or did. She had cried out of anger, confusion, exhaustion, fear, but never like this. She was upset; she was hurt and he was the cause of it.

He turned and slammed his fist into the kitchen wall, watching with satisfaction when it produced a particularly large crack. He watched the framed photo of him, Kelly , and Jenny smiling happily fall and shatter on the ground in an almost ironic fashion.

Kelly watched dejectedly as Jenny walked past her and her grandfather, jogging up the stairs before she heard the slam of the bedroom door. Her father's yelling and her mother's crying-no matter how well she tried to hide it-had become more and more frequent.

The Gibbs house had grown akin to a World War III zone.

Her father strode back through the room, and grabbed his jacket off the sofa.

"Daddy?" Kelly pleaded.

"I'll be back, Kel," he assured her. "I'm sorry, okay?" he said in reference to the particularly harsh shouting match she had no doubt just heard.

She hopped off of the couch and looked up at her father imploringly.

"Daddy, you have to be nice to mommy, okay? Don't make her cry anymore," she said as sternly as a seven year old could.

He nodded without a word and headed for the door.

The second slamming of a door resounded throughout the house, and Kelly shrunk into her grandfather's arms.

Not thirty seconds after her father had left, she slipped out of Jackson's arms and ran up the stairs after Jenny.

She pushed the door to her parents' room hesitantly, and found Jenny sitting on the bed crying softly.

Kelly ran across the room, and crawled onto the bed with her, and Jenny swiped away her tears, immediately trying to cover up her emotional state.

"Mommy, don't cry," Kelly said, and Jenny rested a soft hand on the child's head.

"I'm fine, Kelly," she tried to assure the child. "Don't worry about me, okay? I'm sorry about what you heard. Go back downstairs and talk to your grandfather."

"Do you really hate Daddy?" Kelly asked, pouting in fear of what was to come of her family.

"No," Jenny whispered, shaking her head. "It'll be okay. Just go back downstairs."

Kelly did as she was told hesitantly, lingering in the doorway. Jenny nodded reassuringly, giving her smile that was intended to convince Kelly rather than add more doubt to her mind, but the brunette did as she was told despite hearing Jenny's sobs from within the bedroom.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jethro pulled up to the NCIS shooting range, knowing that was the only way to settle his nerves. As he fired one bullet after another into his target, feeling the recoil ripple through his muscles, he expected to feel better; instead he felt worse about how he had been treating Jenny with each shot.

He hated knowing that she was probably still at his house crying; she might have even left the house. He didn't know what to say to her. He would probably make it worse, he thought to himself reloading his gun.

She drove him crazy, even more so than Shannon had. He could not think how opposite Shannon and Jenny were. Shannon had put on a brave smile whenever he went away, and held his hand when he was hurt, but Jenny had fought him; put him in his place. Shannon had her own temper but it was nothing in comparison to Jenny's. Shannon had been content to stay at home with the baby, but Jenny was too ambitious for that. She was a woman of the 21st century and she made it very clear.

Most infuriating of all though, was the fact that Shannon told him everything outright. If she didn't it wasn't hard to tell what she was thinking. She had always worn her heart on her sleeve. Jenny on the other hand, kept her heart locked away in a titanium, full-proof safe. The _only _thing he ever saw from her was anger unless he tugged it out of her.

Jenny wasn't like other women; certainly not any he had met. She was like him if he had to compare her to anyone. He felt the intense need to smack himself on the back of the head at that thought. She was like _him._ He should have been able to understand her better.

Regardless, she was still a woman, and that complicated everything. She was so complex in everything she did that she infuriated him to no end, but she intrigued him at the same time.

_That_ was a dangerous combination he thought to himself as he emptied his last cartridge into his target.

When he returned home all of the lights were off and the house was silent. He climbed the stairs to his bedroom and pushed the door open with the hope that Jenny was there. He found her in his bed, hugging his pillow, snoring softly.

_Maybe that was a good sign._

He took a seat on the bed, and kicked off his shoes before sliding into bed next to her. She mumbled incoherently and he stayed on top of the covers not feeling that he would be allowed underneath them.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny groaned in pain and woke with a start when her body hit the ground with a thump.

"Ow," she moaned, rolling up onto her elbows only to gasp when she was flipped back on her back. She looked up to see Jethro on top of her, and glared.

_She was not in the mood for games._

"Jethro," she growled. "Get off-"

She was cut off by his fist connecting with her face and gasped in pain, trying to roll out from underneath him only to have to dodge his fist again.

"Jeth-!"

She flipped them as she had done many times before in a much different battle of wills and scrambled away from him, running for the bedroom door only to have him throw her against the wall.

"Jethro, are you out of your mind?" she shrieked, despite the ache already forming in her head.

He wrapped his hands around her throat, and she choked; rasping his name, her eyes widening in fear as she scratched frantically at his hands. Her face turned bright red as she strained to struggle out of his grasp, her eyes starting to water. She looked into his eyes: dull and unresponsive.

Seemingly out of nowhere Jackson burst through the door and yanked Jethro away from her, barking his son's name, and she slumped to the ground gasping for air.

"What happened?" Jethro asked, clearly disoriented. He barely knew where he was much less what he had just done. As reality started to fade in he registered Jenny and her state of distress. "Jen?" he asked, concerned, reaching out for her.

"Don't," she whispered, her voice shaking. "Don't touch me."

"Jen," he tried again, but she shook her head. She inhaled, and pursed her lips to stop herself from crying.

It was then that he noticed the marks around her neck. He had been at NCIS long enough to know what they were. It was only plausible that he had been the one to do it to her by the way she was acting.

"Jethro, I can't live like this," she sighed in defeat, resting her head against the wall. "Jethro, just please, leave me alone. Go away."

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><p><em>An: *sad face*_

_S/n: The last scene was kind of jump started by a Grey's Anatomy episode. Then, I did a little research and this is what I came up with. _

_So, I haven't exactly decided how I want the story to end. I thought I had, but now I'm not sure. So there's a possibility that the next chapter really will be the last, and there's a possibility that it won't. Very informational aren't I lol._


	26. Chapter 26

LilyEvans98, Sam, Autopsy Gremlin, left my heart in Paris, LillyPheonix, NCIS FTW, DS2010, Tyger Elf, ladybugsmomma, ncis4ever21, TeamCarlisleandEsme8, AzNeRd, iwannagibbs, MariskaBaby92, Shy Chey 97, Paris-eternellement, CSInerd878, Kikilia14, and my Gues reader thank you so much for the reviews! :)

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><p>Jenny walked into her father's townhouse-she still couldn't call it hers-not having wanted to go to her house, and she certainly didn't want to go to Jethro's. She had no idea what they were going to do, but it was abundantly clear that she could not keep doing what she was doing. She still had hand marks around her neck and her right eye was purple and bruised.<p>

Magda was there when she walked in and immediately assumed the role of the concerned mother, clicking her tongue as she pulled Jenny into a hug.

"!Ay, querida! No puedo creer que lo hizo. Se va a estar bien. Ya lo verá. !Ay es terrible. Lo siento mucho cariña," Magda murmured in a rush of Spanish in her excitement before switching to English. "It will be all right. Oh, I cannot believe this happened."

Jenny gave her a small smile in thanks of her concern.

"I'm okay, Magda," she assured the older woman. "I think I'm going to go to bed now though."

"Oh, of course," Magda sympathized and to be honest, Jenny hated it. She was grateful for Magda's concern, but she was fine. She wasn't dead. "Would you like anything?"

"No thank you, Magda," Jenny declined. "I really am fine. I'm just tired," she sighed wearily and gave the older a woman a weak smile before turning up the stairs.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jethro sat in his therapist's office having scheduled the appointment the morning after the incident with Jenny. He had chosen one as far away from the justice system as possible; he did not want to be there regardless, but it was now clear to him that he needed to be.

"What finally made you come to therapy?" the older blonde woman sitting across from him asked a pad in her lap, pen in hand.

"I almost killed my daughter's mother in my sleep," he sighed, and she nodded though her brows furrowed in concern and her eyes widened slightly.

"You have particularly violent night terrors then?" she asked neutrally. "You act out the trauma in your sleep."

"Nightmares? Yeah," he conceded, and she shook her head.

"Night terrors and nightmares aren't the same," she explained. "With night terrors, you're in a deep sleep and with PTSD victims, they often entail violent behavior; reliving the trauma."

He said nothing, but glared as she went to scratching on her pad: judging him silently.

She looked back up at him and said, "Why don't we start with what the actual trauma is. What are you dreaming about?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny jogged down the stairs later that afternoon in a long sleeved shirt despite the warm weather, a light scarf around her neck, with a pair of large sunglasses over her eyes. Jackson had called her for the third time that day telling her that Kelly was inconsolable. Jethro had gone so far as to stay in a hotel, not trusting himself around his daughter. The child did not understand why neither of her parents had been home in days. Therefore, Jenny was on her way to see her, but it had been necessary to cover the damage Jethro had done first.

At the top of the steps she heard a knock at the door, but knew that Magda would get it.

Downstairs, the housekeeper opened the door with a smile, but it dropped instantly upon seeing who the visitor was.

"Senor Gibbs," she greeted him warily.

"Is she here?" he asked, and the older woman almost had sympathy for him at the pained look on his face. Ultimately though, her loyalties lied with Jenny.

"You cannot come in here," she declined, shaking her head, but was thwarted by the soft, alto voice of the very woman he was there to see.

"It's alright, Magda," Jenny allowed, her voice stronger than she had expected.

"Jenny…" Magda trailed off warningly, but Jenny shook her head almost imperceptibly, waving her off; and Magda sighed reluctantly before turning to leave them alone.

"Jethro," she said in way of greeting though it came out colder and harsher than she intended. She realized she was irrationally upset with him for not coming to see her until then.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Fine," she replied, removing her sunglasses to reveal the purple coloring beneath and then the scarf to reveal both older bruises and the ones from the previous week. She felt he deserved to see.

"Jesus, Jen," he sighed heavily, taking in the extent of what he had done.

"It looks worse than it is," she murmured. It really did.

"It looks pretty damn bad, Jenny," he mused, exhaling in disbelief.

"You sure know how to flatter a girl, Jethro," she laughed sardonically and he realized then that since he had walked in she had kept some piece of furniture between them. She was afraid of him. She would never admit it; it might even be subconscious, but she was.

"I was going to bring flowers, but I figured it would just piss you off," he said, and he swore he detected the ghost of a smile.

"What are you doing here, Jethro?" she queried bluntly, meeting his gaze finally.

"Make sure you were okay," he replied gruffly, and she scoffed.

"You had to wait a week? I could have been dead by then," she muttered darkly, but wished she hadn't at the look on his face.

"Didn't think you'd want to see me. Figured I wouldn't be allowed in the room anyway," he said.

"Well, I'm fine. I suppose you can leave now," she bit back harshly and he sighed.

"I'm sorry, Jenny," he apologized in earnest, but her expression softened no more.

"I thought you were suddenly so hell bent on no apologies," she responded pointedly.

"Not when you actually regret what you did," he stressed, and she watched him in silence. "I had an appointment with the shrink today," he added albeit a bit distastefully.

"I know you're sorry, Jethro," she finally granted him. "And I'm glad that you're talking to somebody. That doesn't fix this though. You can't fix this," she whispered, shaking her head.

"I know," he murmured.

"I can't do it anymore," she said, shaking her head. "I thought I could. I thought I could deal with whatever this brought, but I can't. I never even _fathomed_ you hurting me, not in my wildest dreams. I do love you Jethro, and I feel like a terrible person, but I can't keep putting you ahead of my health. I just wish you had gotten help before now."

He nodded.

"Me too," he agreed.

What he said next though was nothing short of blindsiding.

"You need to take Kelly," he said. "I can't risk this happening again, and definitely not with her."

"You wouldn't hurt her, Jethro," she scoffed at the ridiculousness of the idea.

"I wouldn't hurt you either, but I did," he stressed. "There can't even be a possibility that might happen again."

"I'm not taking your daughter from you, Jethro," she refused adamantly, meeting his gaze with a pointed one of her own.

"She's your daughter too now, technically," he reasoned, the adoption having gone through only days before that night, but she shook her head.

"Now is not the time for technicalities, Jethro. You don't need to be making rash decisions," she said.

"Now is exactly the time," he rebutted fiercely. "This is part of the reason I asked you to adopt her; in case something went wrong."

"Jethro," she sighed, but he cut her off.

"Jenny, I need you to do this. I'm not saying this has to be indefinite, but I need to get myself straightened out. That's obvious."

She considered him a moment before nodding slowly.

"Okay," she acquiesced softly. "I was going to see her. She's scared, Jethro. Are you going to stop by or…?"

"You'll explain it to her better than I can," he decided.

"Fine, just don't drop off the face of the earth, and don't do anything stupid. If you wind up dead, I'll kill you," she said, bringing some of the teasing normalcy back into their relationship. "_Don't _wind up dead," she said on a more serious note, knowing already what could happen when someone felt they had run out of options.

She sighed and hesitated a moment before pulling his ring from her finger, not really wanting to take it off. She held it out to him gingerly, but he shook his head.

"Keep it," he said. "It's yours."

She bit her lip with glassy eyes and held her hand to his face hating how much it hurt her to leave him. It scared her that one person-one _man_ had so much hold over her without even trying. People always said, 'this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.' She had always scoffed at it, but in this one instance she thought it might be true.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Jenny sighed as she walked into the Gibbs house, the heels of her boots clicking against the hardwood floor of the foyer.

"Kelly?" she called, shutting the door behind her. She heard the hesitant steps of small feet on the steps before Kelly's small sniffles alerted Jenny to her presence. "Hi, honey," Jenny murmured, giving the girl a small smile.

Kelly ran into her arms, wrapping her small arms around the redhead's waist possessively and Jenny held the brunette to her, stroking the child's hair soothingly.

"Why didn't you come home?" Kelly whimpered. "Daddy left and he didn't come back, and grandpa said Daddy hurt you. He didn't right?" Kelly implored, looking up at Jenny with large eyes.

"Come on," Jenny sighed, guiding Kelly into the living room. "We need to talk, okay?"

"Why are you wearing sunglasses inside?" Kelly asked; the very question Jenny had hoped she wouldn't.

"Don't worry about it," Jenny said gently, allowing Kelly to climb into her lap. "Listen, your grandpa shouldn't have said that to you, but your daddy is sick and he needs some time to get better. He won't be around for a while; kind of like when he was in the Marines. Just like then, you're going to stay with me, okay?"

"Did Daddy hurt you?" she asked. "Are you guys breaking up?"

Jenny hesitated before ultimately deciding that it was best to just be straight with Kelly; the little girl had gone through enough uncertainty already, and she was certainly resilient. Jenny bit her lip, trying to discern how best to explain what had happened.

"He was kind of sleepwalking. He didn't know what he was doing but yeah, he did; and yes, we're breaking up," Jenny said. "That doesn't change anything about me and you though, okay," she assured Kelly. "Even after your dad gets better, I'll still be around, and you can come see me whenever you want. I just won't live here with you and Daddy."

"I can live with you if I want to?" Kelly asked quietly, and Jenny paused taken aback.

"We'll talk about it when we get there," she replied, thinking that maybe she should have lied about Jethro hurting her. "Kelly, you know that your father didn't mean what he did, don't you?"

Kelly nodded, but Jenny was unconvinced.

"Can we go to your new house then?" Kelly asked. "I don't want to stay here this time."

"Go pack a bag," Jenny said, setting Kelly on the ground. "We can come back for your other things later, or you can get new ones."

Moments after Kelly had disappeared up the stairs, Jackson came into view having chosen to stay out of the way until Jenny could talk with his granddaughter.

Jenny moved to her feet and advanced on him, livid.

"Just where do you get off turning her against her father?" she demanded. "Mr. Gibbs, I don't know what you feel toward your son or vice-versa and I don't really care to, but whatever it is doesn't give you the right to turn him into a monster for his daughter. I _am _glad that you showed up when you did because I might not be here right now if you hadn't, but Kelly _doesn't _need to know that."

"I apologize," he offered. "I didn't know what to tell her. I know my son, and she knows her father. He wouldn't leave her unless he thought it was bettter for her. I didn't know how to explain that."

Jenny's expression softened somewhat and she sighed.

"You know what Jethro is going through now, but I should've told you when I asked you down here. He isn't in a good place, and while I might not be able to do it anymore, I don't want him going through this alone. Just, try talking to him, please?" she asked. "He's got enough demons, he doesn't need old ones haunting him too."

Both adults looked up at the sounds of Kelly's feet on the steps just before the child came around the corner her pink suitcase in hand. Jenny gave Jackson a pointed look before reaching for Kelly's hand.

"Say good-bye to your grandfather," Jenny prompted, and Kelly waved.

"By Grandpa Jack," she said, refusing to let go of Jenny's hand.

Jackson gave her a wink and smiled.

"See you later, kid," he said.

**~Epilogue: 2 Years Later~**

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was in a particularly foul mood. His soon to be ex-wife was intent on making his life a living hell along with trying to take every penny he had. His daughter wanted some new pony thing. He had barely spoken to Jenny in the seven months since he had married Diane-

_What was he thinking?_

-and Mike Franks had _retired _nearly three months ago, leaving him with his own team, and a bunch of probies to train. Time and time again, the Director sent him brown-nosing, green agents fresh out of FLET-C; and time and time again they barely lasted a week.

Like clockwork, Morrow had requested him in his office three days after his last probies had failed: Langer. He passed by Morrow's assistant, nodding at her in greeting.

"Anna."

"He's waiting for you, Agent Gibbs," she said, smiling and pointed to the cracked door.

He narrowed his eyes at the feminine laughter that followed the rumble of Morrow's baritone voice as he entered.

_He knew that laugh._

"Jethro," Morrow addressed him, standing and moving around his desk.

"Sir," Jethro replied, glancing over the Director's shoulder to see the still partially obscured red hair.

"I want you to meet your new partner," Morrow said, stepping out of the way and motioned to the chair opposite his. "I think she can handle you."

Jethro's eyes widened as the red-head moved to her feet and his suspicions were realized; in front of him stood Jenny Shepard.

She raised a brow slightly with the smirk he had seen less and less of lately. Her eyes danced in amused challenge as if she had been forewarned of his reputation; but she was a veteran in way of his temper. There was none of the fear he had seen in the others.

His gaze drifted over her before lingering a little too long on her legs and down to the classic black pumps he had seen her in for so many years. He returned to her face, her amusement having grown at his staring. Her hair was longer: at her waist now, and she wore a particularly distracting shade of red lipstick.

She moved forward but not before tossing Morrow a regaled look, obviously being familiar with their Director by how relaxed she was in his office. He had never known that.

"Jenny Shepard," she introduced herself for Morrow's benefit, holding out her hand.

It was clear how they were going to play things, and he took the offered hand after a moment.

"Gibbs," he said gruffly.

Women were few and far between in the agency and his former boss had completely renounced the idea of it. While he wasn't quite so primitive-minded as Franks, he wasn't sure how he felt about being saddled with a woman to train; especially when that woman was Jenny.

_He had no idea she was even interested in NCIS, but then again he hadn't bothered to ask. Maybe she had been at FLET-C this past year. That would explain their lack of communication; Diane was a formidable reason too though. She never had liked Jenny. She felt the two of them were to close even when they hadn't been._

"Agent Shepard," Morrow addressed her, and she turned away from Jethro to face him as he held out what appeared to be an ID. "Your ID; you'll start officially tomorrow. Report to Agent Gibbs at 0700. Welcome to NCIS."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny groaned at the sound of a particularly persistent banging on her front door. She groaned, pulling her pillow over her head. When the God-forsaken noise failed to cease she peeked out from under her pillow to look at the time on the clock.

_12:35_

She grumbled, and sat up, smacking at the covers angrily as she moved to her feet. She had to be up in less than five hours and she had only just gone to sleep. She wrapped her robe around herself and came as close to stomping down the stairs as a thirty year old woman could with her dignity intact.

"I'm coming!" she yelled at the mystery nuisance at her door.

She squinted through the peephole and growled upon seeing her new boss and former lover at the door. She wrenched the door open to glare at him murderously.

"What?" she demanded.

"When did you decide to join NCIS?" he asked, stepping inside despite his lack of invitation.

"Come on in," she muttered sarcastically and shut the door behind him. "Is there a reason you decided to wake me in the middle of the night to ask me this?" she snapped. She always had been angry to be woken regardless of the hour.

"You show up as my new probie after a year of barely talking to me, and we act like we've never met. What did you expect?" he demanded.

"Oh please, Jethro; I talk to you," she insisted, but a scowl crossed her face before she added, "Your leech of a wife is just always around to cause me affliction. You know I never liked her." She felt it was safe to say that now that they were getting divorced, and he loathed the woman at least half as much as she did.

She was surprised the marriage had lasted as long as it did. Kelly had told her about some new red head that was always around her father's house when his nightmares had subsided and his flashbacks were becoming less and less and she had started to visit him again. The next thing Jenny knew she was getting a wedding invitation. Needless to say, she had bristled at that. It had only put more strain on their relationship. Not to mention, Diane was a raging bitch.

"She hates you," he replied, and for some reason she smiled as if she took pleasure in that.

"Where's Kelly?" she asked. The girl was nearly nine now and had been back with her father officially for several months.

She tended to spend more time with Jenny still though. She had never been particularly fond of her stepmother either as she relayed to Jenny time and time again; and despite Jenny's efforts to tell her otherwise, she still suspected her father was the reason for the split between him and Jenny.

"Maddie's," he replied, and she nodded. "Why are you joining NCIS, Jenny?" he asked, returning to the reason for his visit.

"I needed a change," she replied, lying through her teeth. He would neither understand nor condone her real reasons. Without the constant of him and Kelly to distract her, her thoughts had drifted far too many times to her father's death and the man who had caused it.

"That's it?" he asked, and she raised a brow slightly as if challenging him to contradict her.

"That's it," she replied matter-of-factly, and he eyed her suspiciously before nodding.

"So, we act like the first time we've met was in Morrow's office today?" he queried, and she nodded.

"Treat me like any other probationary agent. Don't give me any special treatment," she said sternly.

"Hadn't planned on it, _Shepard_," he informed her mockingly, and she grinned. "You going to act like all the other probies?"

_He had missed her smile._

"Not a chance, _Gibbs_," she shot back, her eyes sparkling in amusement.

* * *

><p><em>An: Well, it ended up being one chapter anyway. I hope I covered all the bases. I was thinking about doing more, but my time on FF might start to get a little sporadic and I didn't want to leave it unfinished for too long. Already have that problem with one of my stories. :/ However, if you guys really want it, might be able to remedy that epilogue into a sequel sooner or later. Regardless, you guys have been awesome :)_

_Hugs!_


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